Hypocrisy of Religion and Morality

Where it surfaces

• Translator's Preface

  The persecution of the Doukhobors for their religious beliefs underscores the hypocrisy of state and religious authorities.

• Epigraph

  The verses challenge the reader to examine their own faults before judging others, highlighting religious hypocrisy.

• III

  The contrast between Nekhlúdoff's luxurious lifestyle and his professed ideals about land and justice.

• VI

  The Skoptzý case is manipulated to ensure conviction by a peasant jury, showing how religious persecution is used for political ends, while the president's moral hypocrisy is evident in his extramarital affair.

• VIII

  The priest's mechanical administration of the oath contrasts with the moral gravity of the situation.

• Chapter XIII

  Society praises Nekhlúdoff's vices (gambling, womanizing) while mocking his virtuous acts (giving land to peasants, limiting needs), exposing the hypocrisy of aristocratic morality.

• XXI

  The prosecutor's moralizing tone and invocation of 'society's danger' contrast with the actual lack of concern for truth or fairness.

• XXVI

  The Korchágins' refined manners and liberal talk mask their moral emptiness and cruelty.

• Chapter XXVII

  The Korchagin household embodies moral hypocrisy: Princess Sophia Vasílievna's flattery and affair with the doctor contrast with her pretensions to refinement.

• XXVIII

  Nekhlúdoff condemns the lies and false morality of his social circle, including his own past actions.

• XXXVII

  Máslova's loss of faith after the night at the station, concluding that talk of God and righteousness is deception.

• Chapter XXXVIII

  The prisoners are forced to attend a lavish church service while enduring brutal conditions, underscoring the hypocrisy of religious observance in the face of social cruelty.

• XXXIX

  The elaborate, mechanical ritual of the service contrasts sharply with the lack of genuine spiritual comfort or moral guidance for the prisoners.

• XL

  The chapter vividly exposes the hypocrisy of the church service in prison, where Christ's teachings against judgment, violence, and temple worship are blatantly contradicted by the very institution that claims to honor Him.

• LVIII

  Máslennikoff's preoccupation with social pleasantries and his evasive responses to serious injustices underscore the moral hypocrisy of the upper class.

• XI

  The case of a peasant prosecuted for reading the Gospels to villagers reveals the hypocrisy of religious authorities who suppress genuine spiritual inquiry while claiming moral authority.

• XIV

  The Countess professes Christian faith and attends revivalist meetings yet shows contempt for criminals and nihilists, revealing a contradiction between her religious beliefs and her lack of compassion.

• XV

  Count Iván Micháelovitch's self-serving convictions and lack of moral principles, despite his high position, expose the hypocrisy of those in power.

• Chapter XVI

  Wolff considers himself a man of honour while exploiting his sister-in-law's fortune, disowning his son, and ruining innocent people through state service.

• XVII

  Nekhlúdoff is disgusted by the emotional sermon, seeing it as a performance that ignores real social injustices.

• XIX

  The General's spiritual séance contrasts with his cruel treatment of prisoners, highlighting moral hypocrisy.

• The Senate Hearing

  The presence of the icon and Emperor's portrait in the Senate chamber is described as 'the emblem of hypocrisy' and 'the emblem of servility,' underscoring the moral hypocrisy of the judicial system.

• XXI

  Skovoródnikoff's Darwinian materialism leads him to reject the appeal out of contempt for Nekhlúdoff's moral awakening, revealing a hypocritical dismissal of ethical considerations.

• Chapter XXIII

  Selenin's entire adult life is a study in hypocrisy: he intellectually rejects the State religion but participates in its rituals to maintain his social position and career, justifying the lie with sophistry.

• XXIV

  The Countess promotes the Kiesewetter sermon while Mariette and Nekhlúdoff treat it lightly, contrasting piety with worldly amusement.

• XXVII

  Toporóff's cynical maintenance of religious superstition for the masses while personally being an unbeliever highlights the hypocrisy of institutional religion.

• XXVIII

  Nekhlúdoff sees the moral hypocrisy of Mariette and high society, who hide their corruption behind glamour and aestheticism.

• XII

  Kondrátieff's rejection of religion is described as vengeful and venomous, stemming from his perception of religious deception; Nabátoff, by contrast, holds a quiet, non-dogmatic faith.

• XXI

  The old man criticizes institutional faiths as 'blind puppies' and advocates for self-belief, contrasting with the driver's conventional piety.

• XXVI

  The Englishman's mechanical distribution of Testaments and preaching of salvation contrasts with the prisoners' dehumanizing conditions, highlighting the emptiness of religious gestures without addressing systemic injustice.

• XXVIII

  Nekhlúdoff contrasts the simple, clear laws of the Gospel with the corrupt and violent social order, highlighting the hypocrisy of those who claim to be righteous while perpetuating injustice.