Cry, the Beloved Country Religion

Religion provides another form of identity in Cry, the Beloved Country besides race. Here, we see that Kumalo's position as a reverend gives him a great deal of status in the community. But while religion is generally a positive force in this novel, it does cause this small problem with Sibeko, that he is afraid to approach Kumalo for help because Sibeko does not share Kumalo's religion. We have to wonder what the implications are that Sibeko is the sole exception to the rule that nearly all of the other characters in this book, including Msimangu, Kumalo, and Jarvis, come together to help each other because they do share religious faith.

Mrs. Lithebe is a Msutu and Kumalo is a Zulu, but she is "a good member" of the church who will "think it an honour to have a priest in the house." So religion seems to be a way to flatten out differences between tribes. And it also brings together Kumalo with white priests like Father Vincent. So generally, religion is a unifying force in Cry, the Beloved Country.

Again, religion becomes a way of bringing diverse groups of people together. The many priests, both black and white, who share dinner with Kumalo at the Mission House are all united by their faith in God. Paton is illustrating why he bases his reform politics in religion: because sharing a religion can help people to overcome racial biases and cultural differences.

Not only does Christianity in Cry, the Beloved Country play a role in helping to bring together people in the spirit of brotherly love, but it also has this more specific function of encouraging black activists such as Msimangu to overcome their prejudice and hatred towards the white people who have "not mended" the tribe that they have broken. Msimangu assures Kumalo that he cannot hate white people because they have brought Christianity to his family—but he can hate the results of white colonization of southern Africa.

These critics of Msimangu say that his preaching just distracts people from their legitimate concerns in the real world. By pointing them towards heaven, he's helping them ignore the struggle going on all around them. But this criticism implies that to preach religion is to ignore politics. Do you think that politics and religion are really so separate? Would you say that Msimangu's preaching about heaven prevents him from dealing with real-world obstacles and challenges?

In our "Character Analysis" of Father Vincent, we talk about how we find him a bit condescending towards Kumalo. Because who is he, to tell Kumalo what he should be praying for? Surely prayer is deeply private and personal? At the same time, we are interested in the content of Father Vincent's prayers: he wants Kumalo to use his faith to pray for social change. This passage with Father Vincent seems to illustrate how faith can be a basis for an activist, political view of the community.

This passage comes from one of Arthur Jarvis's papers. He is discussing the hypocrisy of white South Africans who claim to be serious Christians, but who refuse to apply the Christian lesson of brotherly love to their relationships with black people. Indeed, historically speaking, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa played a role in supporting the racist apartheid policies of the Afrikaner nationalists. So while Paton emphasizes the potential of Christian teachings to lead to greater racial equality, the novel also acknowledges that some South Africans use their churches as a way to support the segregation and oppression that Paton opposes.

At Absalom's trial, the judge asks about the weapons that he and his friends used when they broke into Arthur Jarvis's house. Johannes Pafuri brought a metal bar that he used to knock out the servant, Richard Mpiring. Absalom's discussion of the bar shows his total ignorance of the meaning behind what's going on around him. He can't say what Johannes meant by the bar being blessed; all he knows is that the bar has been blessed. Absalom's naivete about the blessing makes him seem super ignorant and out of it—he just accepts everything at face value, which makes him easy to manipulate.

A Synod is a gathering of church leaders. These leaders have come together to decide if they should recognize the African Mine Workers' Union. But even within this church, the racism of individual priests matters. So one of the speakers at the Synod says that they shouldn't bother recognizing this black union because the miners are "simple souls" incapable of carrying out "the art of negotiation." Obviously, just because a person is a member of church leadership does not mean that they lose all of their own prejudices and biases about worldly politics.

Why is it so wrong for Gertrude to have desires? What specific criticism does Cry, the Beloved Country offer for Gertrude's desires? Gertrude also has a young son. If she chose to become a nun (as, in fact, we know she doesn't), what would be her moral obligation to him?