Religion in The Handmaid’s Tale: A Brief Guide

by Colette Tennant (Author)

From the significance of names, to twisted uses of religion, to the origins of the Ceremony, this book answers all the questions you might have about religion in Margaret Atwood’s prophetic novel. This essential guide gives readers a fascinating look into the novel’s world. Read and understand The Handmaid’s Tale like never before.

Dr. Tennant has taught literature and poetry at Corban for 25 years. An acclaimed poet, she has served as Vice President of Oregon State Poetry Association and is a member of the Christianity and Literature Conference, Oregon Poets, and the Oxford Round Table.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale captivates readers with its disturbingly prescient vision of the future and haunting insights into the world as we know it. Religion–especially elements of the Christian faith–pervades every inch of the world as Atwood imagines it. Gilead’s leaders use perverse forms of Christianity to sustain their authority and privilege, making understanding religion an integral part of understanding Gilead. In the face of the inextricable role of religion in the novel, readers are left to puzzle out religious references and allusions on their own.

From the significance of names to twisted uses of religion to the origins of the Ceremony, this book answers all the questions you might have about religion in this prophetic novel. For anyone who’s ever googled a biblical precedent or religious phrase after encountering Atwood’s dystopia, this essential guide explains it all and gives readers a fascinating look into the novel and its world. Read it and understand The Handmaid’s Tale like never before.