In the name of freedom, people have died, fought, and lost. Freedom is not a gift but the blood and the devotion of the courageous who have fought for it.The people of Anthem, the city symbolizing slavery, learn to live without self-expression or an ego. Anthem relates to the struggle of man with being free and fighting the masses of conformity.Mankind has been enslaved for many aspects such as race, gender, money, social status, and religion. The strive for liberation whether it be within yourself or involving a whole country always will be wearisome and effortful; it requires a revolution, a change of heart. .
Spiritual beliefs can subjugate our thoughts, actions, behavior, and personality in a negative or positive way. Thus the Anthem society burned religion and spiritual beliefs along with individualism and the innovative philosophy. The government needed full control of the society and religion would impede. The people worshipped each other as a collective and would recite like a prayer, "There are no men but only the great We, one invisible and forever" (Rand 19). People have always needed a Savior, a higher truth, someone to believe in. In the Aztec religion, they believed they owed a blood-debt to the gods. The Aztecs would sacrifice someone by eviscerating their heart and throwing the dead body down the stairs of the temple (Cóttrill). The people continued to practice human sacrificing because they regarded as the truth that the gods would give them a happy life. They believed that the way in which one dies determines the afterlife. As a result, most victims volunteered to sacrifice themselves in order to free them of a miserable eternity. .
In Anthem, the World Council has complete authority over the population. The way they dress, behave, speak, think and even their profession for their entire lives will be controlled by the government. The world has had an abundance of corrupt leaders.