# Technology and Religion in The Absolute at Large

> Theme guide for The Absolute at Large by Karel Čapek.

The book explores the fusion of industrial technology with the divine, as Marek's Karburator mechanically releases the Absolute, leading to mass religious experiences, miracles, and the commodification of God.

## Where it surfaces

- [II: The Karburator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/ii-the-karburator): Bondy's ecstatic, almost religious experience in the cellar suggests the Karburator evokes a pantheistic or spiritual awe, blurring the line between technological marvel and divine encounter.
- [III: Pantheism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/iii-pantheism): Marek's Karburator, a technological marvel, inadvertently releases the Absolute, blurring the line between scientific progress and spiritual experience.
- [IV: God in the Cellar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/iv-god-in-the-cellar): The Karburator mechanically produces God, blurring the line between scientific invention and divine revelation.
- [Bishop Linda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/v-bishop-linda): The Karburator, a technological invention, produces religious ecstasy, blurring the line between science and faith.
- [VII: Developments](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/vii-developments): The Karburator's success is juxtaposed with a wave of religious mania affecting bankers and industrialists, suggesting a spiritual crisis triggered by technological upheaval.
- [VIII: The Dredge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/viii-the-dredge): The dredge and its Karburator are worshipped as a divine machine, an 'iron church,' where God is said to be incarnate in the vessel.
- [IX: The Ceremony](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/ix-the-ceremony): The Karburator ceremony takes on a quasi-religious tone, with the President pressing a lever like a priest, and the press later describing the event as a miracle and an act of worship.
- [X: Saint Ellen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/x-saint-ellen): The Karburator, a technological device, unleashes the Absolute, leading to religious phenomena like thought-reading and strikes.
- [XI: The First Blow Struck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/xi-the-first-blow-struck): The Karburator, a technological device, becomes the center of a quasi-religious experience, with Binder using it to draw followers and preach.
- [XIV: The Land of Plenty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/xiv-the-land-of-plenty): The Karburator releases the Absolute, which then manifests through both religious miracles and industrial production, blending technology with divine power.
- [XIX: The Process of Canonization](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/xix-the-process-of-canonization): The Karburator is installed in St. Peter's as a central object of worship, and atomic motors are implicated in religious phenomena in Africa and Arabia.
- [XXI: The Telegram](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/xxi-the-telegram): The telegram serves as a technological conduit for what appears to be a prophetic confirmation, blending modern communication with quasi-religious revelation.
- [The Augsburg Imbroglio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/xxiii-the-augsburg-imbroglio): The Karburator technology is used as a weapon, and supernatural forces intervene in the conflict, blending technological and religious elements.
- [XXIV: The Napoleon of the Mountain Brigade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/chapters/xxiv-the-napoleon-of-the-mountain-brigade): Bobinet's campaign targets Karburators (atomic motors) as symbols of the Absolute, blending technological destruction with anti-religious state policy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/themes/technology_and_religion
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_absolute_at_large_se/themes