In the novel Go Tell It On the Mountain, by James Baldwin, religion is a central theme, and three main characters struggle with religion in three different, but similar, ways, as each struggle to live by God's laws. The struggle of John, the 14-year-old protagonist, with religion is deeply intertwined with his struggle with his father, Gabriel. Gabriel, who's struggle to live by God's laws starts in his sinful childhood and subsequent spiritual rebirth, is faced with the conflicting forces of his desire to believe and his own weakness. Elisha, a "saved" adolescent who John admires very much, combines a strong spiritual devotion to God's ways with righteous action.
John's struggle to abide by God's laws is an indirect one due to his relationship with his father, Gabriel. For the majority of the book, John's relationship with God and the moral path as defined by Christianity is marred by his direct association of his father with religion. John sees Gabriel and religion as one in the same, therefore, even though he may, in his heart, desire a relationship with God and desire to live by God's laws, John is unable to because he feels that in doing so, he would be succumbing to his father, who he hates. "Then he hated his father and longed for the power to cut his father down." One can infer that John desires a relationship with God because of the final motion of the book. In that final scene, John is stricken on the floor of his church and goes through a transformation: John realizes that he and God can have a direct relationship, a relationship of which Gabriel is not a member. John's struggle is successful, for he winds up willing and able to live under God's laws. After his transformation, John says, "Yes. I'm going to serve the lord.".
Like his son, Gabriel strives to abide by God's laws but cannot. Unlike his son, however, Gabriel does not overcome those obstacles and therefore, his quest for God is a failed one.
