Religion In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, religion has been all but destroyed and replaced with Ford. Bibles were taken, churches were abandoned, and now the only people in this society who have any real idea of what religion is are the world controllers and some inhabitants of the reservation. While Ford might appear to lack deep spirituality that present day religion may have, they are still very relatable to one another. Church in Brave New World has been replaced by solidarity service or essentially a soma intoxicated orgy composed of 12 people. When Huxley writes about this “sacred” event; however, he describes it as, “Twelve of them ready to be made one, waiting to come together, to be fused, to lose their twelve separate identities in a larger being.” While this is obviously making a direct reference to sex, it is also referencing religion. The point of congregating at a church is to worship together with others who all are praising a higher being, the congregation becomes united as one under god. Church is an orgy without sex, at least in this context.

Everyone present at the solidarity service repeats the same lines as they are taking sips of soma from little cups and then passing it to the next person in the line. After they all drink, people start to claim they hear or see Ford, and the orgy ensues. In present day communion, attendees of the church drink wine and eat unleavened bread, the blood and body of Christ. This is a very spiritual act where one reflects upon themselves and the decisions, mainly bad, they have made and seeks forgiveness. Huxley’s version might not contain as much deep reflection as what occurs today, but there is obviously still a strong feeling of god to the people waiting for the orgy. If this feeling were not present, they would not cry out claiming to hear or see the almighty Ford (Schwarz,