# Religious Hypocrisy in Hudibras

> Theme guide for Hudibras by Samuel Butler.

The book satirizes the Puritan and Presbyterian factions of the English Civil War, exposing their self-serving piety, doctrinal absurdities, and use of religion as a pretext for violence and political ambition.

## Where it surfaces

- [Hudibras Part I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/hudibras): Hudibras and Ralpho's pious justifications for violence and their petty theological squabbles expose the gap between religious profession and action.
- [Canto I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-i-canto-i): Hudibras is portrayed as a knight whose piety is a mask for self-interest and absurdity, embodying the hypocrisy of the Puritan cause.
- [Canto II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-ii-canto-ii): Ralpho argues that saints may perjure themselves for self-advantage, exposing the hypocrisy of those who claim moral superiority while breaking oaths.
- [Canto II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-iii-canto-ii): The speaker accuses the Presbyterians of using piety as a mask for political ambition, greed, and treachery, exemplified by their 'sanctify'd impertinence' and manipulation of scripture.
- [The Lady’s Answer to the Knight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-iii-the-lady-s-answer-to-the-knight): The Lady accuses Hudibras of perjury and using the Gospel to justify his treachery, paralleling religious hypocrisy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/themes/religious_hypocrisy
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/themes