Slaughterhouse Five Religious Beliefs

War’s Faithful Absurdity While homes were being torn apart from the relentless bombing campaigns throughout World War 2, many people across the world held on to a key component of their lives: religion. However, in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, there is a subtle criticism of religion, particularly Christianity, by exploring its faults and grievances during wartime. Through Billy Pilgrim’s time travel and experiences, the dissonance between religious belief and the absurdity of human violence becomes increasingly transparent and highlights human’s lack of morality and sense in times of despair. The imagery of Christ serves as a symbol of humanity's detachment from God through their horrendous actions in the war. Kilgore Trout’s novel

The egregious acts committed by soldiers, civilians, and world leaders, many of whom were Christians, were ignorant of the teachings of the faith and Jesus himself. The actions committed were deprived of Christian teachings and were slowly turning the faith into a shell of what it once was. The abandonment of Christian teachings amidst the war illuminates the absurdity of the war itself, as violence erodes foundational teachings. Like Jesus once died on the cross, Christianity was slowly dying throughout wartime as people became increasingly disconnected from Jesus and his teachings. Christ building a “device” at the request of the Romans to have a “rabble-rouser” executed also highlights the hypocrisy and absurdity of humans in the war (260). Christ, who is known as a merciful, forgiving man, creates a device to kill others, which is highly hypocritical considering his teachings and lessons. This is reflective of humanity as a whole, because as the war progresses, humans only inch closer to their destruction as weapons become more powerful and supplies become

Just as Christ is depicted as creating his method of death, humans during World War 2 can be seen creating their form of death through the horrendous actions they committed. However, besides physical death, there is a different, yet possibly more tragic form of death: a complete disconnection from the Christian faith and its teachings. The rejection and ignorance of Christ’s comfort and teachings by not only humans but also in Billy Pilgrim’s Tralfamadorian visions exemplify the complete loss of morality during the war and the absurd actions of humankind. Billy Pilgrim’s “meek” faith in Jesus, which the soldiers found “putrid” is both hypocritical and absurd considering the violent, unrelenting nature of war (38). Despite the horrors and violence these soldiers face, they continue to push Christ away from their lives. Many of Christ’s teachings explain how he is there to console and take some of our burdens, yet these soldiers reject him and ridicule those who follow him. The absurdity of the war is showcased, as despite having a way to be comforted, they instead reject this and attack those who may be considered “weak” for following