Religion In Octavia Butler's Parable Of The Sower

Nathan Noll

Professor Hopkins

Introduction to Literature

27 March 2023

Religion in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower

Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower is a dystopian novel that depicts a world ravaged by climate change, economic inequality, and social unrest. The novel follows the journey of Lauren Olamina, a young black woman who develops a new philosophy/religion called Earthseed, which she hopes will help people survive and thrive in this new world. Lauren founded this religion in response to the organized religion she was raised around and had pushed on her by her family, specifically her father. Although Lauren rejects the traditional Christian beliefs she was raised on, she is Christ figure herself. The articles “Parable of

This is a message that has strong historical backing. Christianity was used as a justification for the ownership of slaves in the early days of the United States. But later down the line, it was used as a justification for the end of segregation and the treatment of people with different traits as equal. Lauren takes a similar approach in the founding of Earthseed. Although she changes the idea of what God is in her writings, ideas from her Christian upbringing can be seen in her Earthseed texts. A prime example of this is Earthseed’s belief that the group will one day “take root among the stars” (Butler 112). Lauren elaborates on why this belief is necessary in Parable of the Talents, the second novel in the Earthseed series, saying: ‘We need the stars, Bankole. We need purpose! We need the image the Destiny gives us of ourselves as a growing, purposeful species” (Butler 177). Although it is not the same as Christian heaven, the belief in working towards going to a better place later is very similar to the idea of following God to reach heaven. Having a goal in mind makes living life less of a burden for Earthseed’s followers, as they have a reason to continue pushing forward and striving for a better life for themselves and others in a cold and unforgiving world that seems

She believes that science and religion can coexist and that instead of rejecting all aspects of organized religion going forward people should instead take the best aspects of these faith systems and keep them in mind while rejecting beliefs that cause inequality and discrimination. The articles mentioned both support this interpretation of Octavia Butler’s work by providing insight into the ways that Lauren changes Christianity almost entirely while simultaneously being a Christ-like figure who promotes equality and fair treatment of