Religion is useless, worthless, mindless and for those not grounded in reality. Or so Mark Twain would say, as indicated in the novel Huckleberry Finn. Twain's attitude towards religion, one of cynicism and mockery, is thinly veiled in this story. Although sometimes considered a children's anecdote, Huckleberry Finn takes shots at Christianity that clearly illustrate the author's viewpoint towards organized religion. Mark Twain has no patience for religion or for those who subscribe to its validity.
Far from being a devout Bible believer, Twain considers religion superstition. In fact, from looking at the novel, you could deduce that Twain has more respect for superstition than for religion. For example, Huck expects bad luck to follow in his wake after accidentally killing a spider and later touching a rattlesnake skin. Soon afterwards, bad luck does follow in the form of Huck's father returning and Jim being bitten by a snake. However, when Huck prays to the Lord and nothing happens, we are thereby given the assumption that religion is worthless. Religion is portrayed as being more worthless, in fact, than seemingly irrational superstition.
Although superstitious people are usually regarded as gullible and insecure people, Twain portrays religious people as even more gullible and insecure in his story. According to Twain, religious people are naive and overly impractical. For example, when Huck's father is taken in by the new judge, his conversion is pronounced loud and clear, with the judges family being taken in by Huck's father's act. Additionally, the revival meeting made a great fool out of religion and moves of God. Not only does this promote the gullibility of Christians but also the powerlessness and impracticality of God and His Word. Tom Sawyer takes all his ideas and his "rules" (for the gang of thieves and for helping Jim escape) from books. Books thus form a foundation for civilization; using books, people like Tom are able to create the society that they want to live in.
