Religion as a Tool of Control Essay

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the midpoint of a hardhearted conception, and the soul of insensitive conditions. It is the opium of the people (Marx 260). This education implies that apparitional belief is a provideful nonion that encourages people to jerk off down their conditions instead of nasty against their plight. Indeed in the wrong circulates, it put up be depraved to justify measureless atrocities and so be expenditured as a pawn of oppression. In her fresh, The handmaidenens Tale, Marg atomic number 18t Atwood portrays a dystopian inn, a fictional res publica c whollyed Gilead, whose rulers recitation the power of piety to underpin their terrifying personal ag deatha.She satirizes the policy-making st give awayegy that uses credit to support its mandate, and justify its more than contestable laws. distinctly the use of godliness for political purposes is unrivalledness of the central themes of the wise Atwood takes a ste rilise of fundamentalist religious beliefs followed by current smasher elements in red-brick-day clubhouse and takes them to their crystalline end to cozy up their dependable despotic nature. In Gilead, politics and godliness go hand in hand. The Sons of Jacob use religion and psychological tactics to throw the masses and twisting them to their impart.Consequently the res publica makes drawn- expose use of religious terminologies for eccentric interior(prenominal) servants atomic number 18 called Marthas referring to a domestic character in the rule book, the soldiers ar called Angels turn the local police surprise atomic number 18 the Guardians of the reliance. The ruling authorities officials are called the commanding officers of the f lace. Even the name of shopping stores puzzle scriptural references bid All Flesh, milk and Hvirtuosoy, Loaves and Fishes. The purpose of this extensive use of scriptural language is to misdirect the people of Gilea d into accept that their rulers enact the will of God Himself. simply the government save adopts certain outlooks of Christianity spell it shuns those that it finds inconvenient. For example aunty Lydia, a instructor to the handmaids, says Ive lettered to do without a lot of things, you get too connect to this material world and forget phantasmal values. You must wreak poverty of spirit. conjure are the meek. (Atwood 110) at this point in the sassy Offred notes that aunty Lydia says nothing about inheriting the Earth. thus the commonwealth apply religious plea to demand aristocratic behavior from the handmaids.thusly religion is apply as a powerful political tool in Gilead. Women play a very limited section in Gileads gild biblical allusions are used to recrudesce their status. A Commander makes the succeeding(a) pitch at the womens prayvaganza. Let the fair sex learn in silence with all subjection. plainly I suffer not a cleaning lady to teach, nor usu rp self-assurance over the man, that to be in silence. For turn was beginning formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, moreover the woman universe deceived was in the transgression. besides she shall be relieve by childbearing, if they hide in faith and charity and faith with sobriety. (273) Therefore, by bill of exchange an interpretation from a single biblical story the role of women is limited to reproduction. Moreover, in order to stop the women from getting libertarian, unsanctified ideas mass censorship takes place in Gilead. The country is swing music off from the worldwide world as it does not level allow international television to be broadcasted Offred notes this while honoring the television Serena clicks the send changer.Waves, colored zigzags, a garble of in effect(p) it is the Montreal Satellite stake being blocked. (101) what is more all books deemed dissident by the republic are burn down and women are not allowed to engage at all, the bible is unplowed under lock and key so that the Commanders can read out only those parts that are prescribed by the government. Offreds commandant reads out the following passage from the bible on the sidereal day of the monthly honoring Give me children, or else I die. Am I in Gods stead, who hath withheld from thee the reaping of the uterus?Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear fruit upon my knees, that I may also shake off children by her. (112) This biblical tale, narrated in the impudent by the Commander, forms the rear of the concept of a handmaid which is wherefore it is given special conditional relation in Gilead and it is also another(prenominal) one of the naive stories from the bible that are used to practice highly questionable obligations on women. gum olibanum the women of Gilead are reduce by a warped adaptation of Christianity.Religion is vatic to emancipate man. But The Handmaids Tale depicts a society in which it is used to shackle people, to brainwa sh them, to force them to conform to a lifestyle permitted by their government. Margaret Atwood compares the people accompaniment in Gileads repressive society to rats trapped in a labyrinth, she points out A rat in a maze is handsome to go anywhere as eagle-eyed as it stay in the maze(363). In feature those that rebel to the realised norms are dealt with raspingly they are punish at a seudo-religious ceremony called the Particicution, where they are lynched to death by a stack of women for false crimes they did not commit. Regarding this, the dissident handmaid, Ofglen remarks He wasnt a rapist at all, he was a political. He was one of ours. (350) What this entails is that the society in the novel is highly autocratic and it does not allow the liberty of expression, in position it uses hero-worship to turn back its citizens and induce their piety, as Offred notes We must boldness good from a distance picturesque, like Dutch milkmaids on a cover frieze.Soothing to th e eye, the eyes, the Eyes, for thats who this show is for. Were off to the Prayvaganza to butt on how obedient and pietistic we are. (266) This highlights the peoples inherent paranoia, the fear of being ground unfaithful, that has been slowly urbane into their hearts and minds. truly the establishment defiles the straightforward spirit of religion by passing game against its very middle the spiritual hammock of mankind.The use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel Atwood takes a focalize of religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In conclusion, Margaret Atwood portrays a horrifying twitch reality in which religious fundamentalists overtop and religion comes to enjoin every aspect of human life. The bailiwick of religion carries a lot of significance in the novel in situation the novel serves as a ensample against the extremist views held by many modern think tanks.