IndexReligionSuperstition and PrejudiceConclusionWork CitedIn this essay I will analyze religion and prejudice in Silas Marner by providing quotes from both the book and articles. First I will provide some information about George Eliot and his views on religion. So, I will summarize the religion of the Victorian age. George Eliot spent 21 years in Warwickshire on a farm. These years were useful for Eliot to get to know people. George Eliot did not have a severe attitude against religion, morality and politics. Participating in the community of free thinkers leads to some new ideas. Interpreting George Eliot's religious point of view is perhaps the only way to know Eliot's ideology and understand his works. According to some critics, Eliot was an atheist. Other critics said that Eliot was a religious symbol of his time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayReligionIn the Victorian era, religion was very popular for a time. The society was very religious. There were many churches visited by people. They read the Bible deeply and organized their lives according to the Bible and the church. They feared God. But after a while people began to question religion. It was because of industrialization and new developments in science. The emergence of scientific ideologies was the main reason for the decline of ancient religious beliefs and superstitions. Due to these advances there has been an increase in the level of literacy. People have become well educated. After the Industrial Revolution, job opportunities expanded and people living in the countryside began coming to the city to work. Communication became easier and traveling was no longer difficult. Thanks to these developments, people found comfort and began to move away from religion and spirituality. Because they were blindly dependent on the church, they could not see their right in the face of that mass of developments. After industrialization, the number of people who wanted to become priests or ministers was too small. They chose to do business and scientific work. During this time the church lost its power and authority over people against science. Liang Zhang described the Victorian age in his article 'A Moral World Without God: On George Eliot's Religion of Mankind in Silas Marner' this way: 'The Victorian period saw various ideas appear frequently. In science and technology, the Victorians brought forward the modern idea of ​​"invention," the idea that solutions to problems can be created and that man can create new means of improving himself and his environment. In religion, the Victorians experienced a great age of doubt, and people began to raise doubts about institutional Christianity on a large scale. In ideology, politics and society, the Victorians created surprising innovations and changes: democracy, feminism, worker unionization, socialism, Marxism and other modern movements took inspiration from them. The most serious challenge faced by religion in the 19th century came from the field of biology. Evolution, progress and natural laws were intimately linked in the understanding of nature. Darwin was a name well known throughout the world." After all this information, when we check religion in Silas Marner, perhaps we can say that it is the most complex religious theme that has been used in a novel so far. When we read the novel we can understand that the narrator had already been exposed to some pity events from superstitious people. He explained it in the novel: 'Suchstrange lingering echoes of the ancient cult of demons might perhaps be caught even now by the diligent listener among the gray-haired peasants, for the rude mind with difficulty associates the ideas of power and benevolence. A dark conception of power, which with much persuasion can be induced to abstain from inflicting harm, is the form most easily assumed by the sense of the Invisible in the minds of men who have always been close to primitive needs and to whom a life of hard work is not never been enlightened by any enthusiastic religious faith. For them pain and misfortune present wider possibilities than joy and enjoyment: their imagination is almost devoid of images that nourish desire and hope, but is everywhere cultivated by memories that are a perpetual pasture for fear.' Through this quote we can say that the narrator has a religious bent. It is against superstitions, not against religion. According to him, God, called "Invisible", is a good and positive power. He thinks that God is the one who brings "hope" to the whole world. That's why, if we think about it even for a little while, we will understand that religion is not against "joy and enjoyment", as he said. As a result of this, “the ideas of power and benevolence” can be supported altogether. Superstition is the idea of ​​believing in something that is not based on logical basis. These ideas have no real results, they are unproven. When we read the quote it is clear that he struggles with superstitions and that the 'rough' mind of the farmer 'has never been enlightened by any enthusiastic faith'. The other expression shows us that the narrator is making a comparison between superstition and enthusiastic religious faith. Divine inspiration is the source of this idea. This quote gives us the opportunity to analyze religion and pushes us to make comparisons between religions and people. In addition to the narrator's ideas, the writer also expressed her ideas through the novel. His idea was to replace religion with something new. Because he thinks that religion is not the way to solve problems. When we examine Silas' ideas we will see that the writer is partly right. Silas' connection to the church was emotional. He thinks that his attitude towards religion is as simple as a child's love for his parents. He is not aware of the essence of religion. One quote reflects this this way: 'His first movement after the shock had been to work at the loom: and he went on with his incessantly, never asking himself why, now he had come to Raveloe. He worked late into the night to finish collecting Mrs. Osgood's table linen sooner than she expected, without considering in advance the money it would put in his hands for the job. It seemed to weave, like the spider, out of pure impulse, without reflection. The work of every man, pursued with perseverance, tends in this way to become an end in itself, and thus to fill the loveless abysses of his life. Examining this quote will give us the idea of ​​the writer. In her opinion religion should be replaced with something else. It gives us the message to escape from problems that cannot be solved with religion. Everyone should be busy with their own work and worries. George Eliot wants reflection without self-interest to also be an element in dealing with life's problems. He dedicated himself to his work. While the other town found him guilty, Silas formed a relationship working in Raveloe. Working was a way to forget his past. He did his job for pleasure and for his own good in terms of escaping from problems. Antti Nuutila explains religion in his article "The Function of Religion in Silas Marner and the Slave" this way: "There are two different societies represented in the story,both Christian. The functions of a religious community are described from multiple angles. We are given both an internal and external perspective. We are shown the effect of a man's expulsion from one religious community and his subsequent inclusion in another. Thematically the novel has a lot to offer for a religiously based read. Religion is like a house: a building that keeps people close to each other, allows them to live together comfortably, and determines the specific form a community takes.' The living condition was not good, everyone wanted to receive something from another. Each man looked after his own personal interest. That's why I can't agree with George Eliot's idea. When people were so complicated, the only way to prevent immorality in public is religion. If we simply rebel against God or run away from religion, it will never be sincere. Religion should be the first criterion for connecting people to each other. Everything has a reason, if we distance ourselves from religion it will be a defeat for us. Because due to all these problems, worries; we are in an examination before God. So, we can say that thanks to Silas, George Eliot showed all his feelings, beliefs and thoughts against God. For example; G. Eliot does not believe in the church because he thinks that moral behaviors are provided neither by religion nor by the church. He made Silas inspired by G. Eliot. At the beginning of the novel Silas goes to church and prays here all day. But later some pitiful events push him to lose faith against religion and God. The strong bond between Silas and religion is stated thus in the novel: "God exonerates me: I know nothing about the knife that is there or the money that is disappeared." Search me and my dwelling; you will find nothing but three pounds and five of my savings, which William Dane knows I have had these six months. Here William groaned, but the minister said, "The evidence is heavy against you, Brother Marner." In this quote we can understand that Silas had hope. There were no witnesses or evidence. All the evidence was against him. William Dane is the one who will accuse him of stealing the money. There is a phrase said by Silas many times. 'God will exonerate me'. William Dane is responsible for a money theft and at the end of the novel Silas' sentence comes true. Silas never lost faith in God until that moment. He was still waiting for a miracle. It could be an angel or a sound. His expectation for divine intervention shows us the point of view of the people at that time. The religious person was very religious, the person pursuing the scam was very cunning. The prosecution was conducted secretly from the public. Because they think other church members may be negatively affected. At that time the church had a great impact on society. They didn't want to lose their dominance over the public. Religion has been used by them for centuries. They organized the government of religion for the sake of themselves. If people knew that situation, there would be a rebellion against them and their fame would suffer. But none of this was a problem for Silas. Because he was deeply connected to God and religion. In this quote, his faith in William Dane was the example of his faith in God. He always said "God will exonerate me" as he knew that God is the only one who protects people in the right way and believes that his innocence will be proven only by God. No one believes him including Dane, his best friend. Thomson Fred vindicates Silas' loneliness in his article 'The Theme of Alienation in Silas Marner': 'Not that Silas Marner is a tragedy. Certainly the main outline of the second half and the ending are of opposite nature; but the parts that describe exile, loneliness andSilas' privations are truly grim. Through this quote we can understand that the only culprits are people and not religion. Silas becomes only part of all these events. In my opinion religion is not guilty on this point because God created all religions without any error. If Silas followed religion despite these problems, he would be happier than now. As Thomas Hobbes said: 'Homo homini lupus'. It means that people are to blame for every situation. There are many selfish people, they will trip us up for their own good because humanity is always greedy. When they have achieved something, they will want another. Unfortunately it will never end. Using people for purposes is the worst of diseases. Therefore, we should not turn away from God or religion because people like that. Experiencing pious events should not be the reason for losing our beliefs or our faith. We must rise again with a stronger conviction even if we are always defeated. It is not a remedy to distance yourself from people. The only thing that will save us is God and our beliefs. If we wait for divine intervention, everything will happen rightly. With these events we are under scrutiny by God but it is a sin. People are brought to some tasks. We don't know what is good or what is bad for us. Sometimes we can get sick, for example, we think that's why it happened to me, but sometimes illnesses are good for health. The faithful person can run away from their beliefs. The faithful person is the one who knows how to deal with problems. He does his duty and leaves the rest to God. Ian Milner states this situation of Silas in his article 'Structure and quality in Silas Marner'; 'Silas, at first, gives the impression of presence, not of an individualized personality. When we are taken back fifteen years to Lantern Yard, we get a fleeting glimpse of a devout but anonymous young man, completely absorbed in his faith. What matters and what stands out in the story is the wrong done to Marner: the cold malice of a friend that destroys his place in the community, interrupts his marriage and shatters his faith. (p.3) So we can understand that Silas's departure was not against religion. He was dedicated to his faith, beliefs and religion. Faith was his whole life. Humanity is the only one that corrupts all the beauties of the world and humanity. David Sonstroem argues this situation in his article "The Breaks in Silas Marner" this way: "All readers of Silas Marner agree with George Eliot's broad statement of purpose: Silas 'brings into sharp relief the healing influences of pure and natural human relationships'. Everyone also agrees with David R. Carroll's authoritative essay which claims that the novel presupposes "an alien universe" and expresses an agnostic point of view alleviate the evils of a life led in a world without God. But confusion and debate arise over the novel's numerous chance events. By granting so many positive and negative opportunities to his characters - acting as dea ex machina - George Eliot would seem to apply the concept. that the universe is morally responsive and providential rather than an amoral and indifferent humanity. Superstition and prejudice At the beginning of the novel the narrator uses some word like “superstition” and reflects its sides. The harmful effects of superstition will be clearly illustrated. The main theme of the first chapter is Silas' conception of superstition. Furthermore, the narrator is against religious superstition. Despite the negativity, the narrator simultaneously recounts the positive aspects. The village of Raveloe is not a poor village. Silas lived there for fifteen years. Superstition was widespread among the peasants. Silas left his village because of 2017.