Religion In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

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Religion Spiritual beliefs and practices is a theme that is often woven into literature of all genres. These reference to the spiritual may be in the way of a particular religion, evil spiritual beings, or even atheism. Regardless, spiritual or religious thought is woven into what we read just like it is woven into the world in which we live. Some authors praise a particular belief system, others approach the same with ridicule and mockery. In William Faulkner’s novel titled As I Lay Dying one would get the sense that Faulkner’s references to religion comes from his own life experience. The reader may also get the feeling that Faulkner has a bit of disdain for his experience with religion. Evangelical Christianity is the religious theme that Faulkner has woven into his novel. Nearly two thousand years ago, according to the biblical record, Jesus walked the land of Palestine ministering to the people with signs and wonders before meeting his end by crucifixion. Some historians and scholars say that Jesus was a dangerous insurrectionist that got himself executed by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. Others revere Jesus as one of the many prophets that were sent by God to the Jewish nation. Many more believe that he was the son-of-god who came to earth on a mission to pay the penalty for the sins of the human race and bring …show more content…

(McClymond 102) With this amount of diversity and the variation in ways of worship, belief, and life style, it is impossible to attempt to identify any characteristics as being distinctively the essence of Christianity. (Palikan 166) However, the scene of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, during the nineteen twenties, is in a region of the United States that is commonly referred to as the Bible belt. In the Bible belt it is Evangelical Protestantism that is the most common brand of

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