# Religion and Credulity in Erewhon Revisited

> Theme guide for Erewhon Revisited by Samuel Butler.

The book explores how a single miraculous event can spawn a new religion, complete with temples, priests, relics, and exploitation of public faith, satirizing the development of religious institutions and the gullibility of followers.

## Where it surfaces

- [Author's Preface](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/author-s-preface): Butler explicitly discusses how a single miraculous event can spawn a new religion, with temples, priests, and exploitation of public credulity.
- [My Father Overhears More of Hanky and Panky’s Conversation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/iv-my-father-overhears-more-of-hanky-and-panky-s-conversation): The professors' debate over the Sunchild's prayer highlights how religious texts are altered to suit institutional and personal agendas.
- [V: My Father Meets a Son, of Whose Existence He Was Ignorant; and Strikes a Bargain with Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/v-my-father-meets-a-son-of-whose-existence-he-was-ignorant-and-strikes-a-bargain-with-him): The Erewhonians have deified Higgs and created a mythology around his balloon flight, showing how ignorance and myth spawn religion.
- [X: My Father, Fearing Recognition at Sunch’ston, Betakes Himself to the Neighbouring Town of Fairmead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/x-my-father-fearing-recognition-at-sunch-ston-betakes-himself-to-the-neighbouring-town-of-fairmead): My father's reflections on the epitaph and Dr. Gurgoyle's pamphlet contrast with earlier Erewhonian critiques of heaven and hell, exploring beliefs about the afterlife.
- [President Gurgoyle’s Pamphlet “On the Physics of Vicarious Existence”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xi-president-gurgoyle-s-pamphlet-on-the-physics-of-vicarious-existence): Gurgoyle's pamphlet reinterprets religious concepts of heaven and hell, arguing for a secular, influence-based afterlife, while criticizing popular credulity in literal resurrection.
- [XIV: My Father Makes the Acquaintance of Mr. Balmy, and Walks with Him Next Day to Sunch’ston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xiv-my-father-makes-the-acquaintance-of-mr-balmy-and-walks-with-him-next-day-to-sunch-ston): The chapter explores how a single miracle (the balloon ascent) uproots traditional beliefs and leads to the establishment of a new religion, despite the skepticism of its leaders.
- [XV: The Temple Is Dedicated to My Father, and Certain Extracts Are Read from His Supposed Sayings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xv-the-temple-is-dedicated-to-my-father-and-certain-extracts-are-read-from-his-supposed-sayings): The dedication of the temple and the reading of fabricated sayings highlight how credulity and institutional religion can distort original teachings.
- [Professor Hanky Preaches a Sermon, in the Course of Which My Father Declares Himself to Be the Sunchild](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xvi-professor-hanky-preaches-a-sermon-in-the-course-of-which-my-father-declares-himself-to-be-the-sunchild): Hanky's sermon manipulates the congregation's faith, presenting the Sunchild as either divine or a fraud, while exploiting credulity for institutional control.
- [George Escorts My Father to the Statues; The Two Then Part](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxv-george-escorts-my-father-to-the-statues-the-two-then-part): The characters debate the truth of Sunchildism and the manipulation of religious belief for institutional power.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/themes/religion_and_credulity
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/themes