Love vs. Religion

Love and religion often challenge each other in the novel, “ Hey Nostradamus!” by Douglas Coupland. Love consists of both lust and an individuals support and encouragement for another, and religion embraces our beliefs and how we react to our surroundings. These two situations can either bring people together and unite love and religion, or in some cases, tear people apart into isolation when the interests of love and religion conflict each other. There are several examples of this throughout the book. Reg certainly favors his religion over his son Jason. When his son longed for guidance and forgiveness for stealing the neighbor's raspberries, Reg turned his back on him and pretended as if he did not exist since the sin of theft was committed. He also accused Jason of murder when Jason had actually saved innocent people, claiming that Jason should have been killed instead of committing a sin himself, even if it saved his life. This demonstrates that Reg would rather have lost his young son's life rather than have him sin. Religion also created conflict between Jason, Cheryl and Youth Alive, leaving Youth Alive no choice but to accuse Jason and Cheryl of sinning when they were suspected of having premarital sex. Jason even took his fury out on Youth Alive! physically, by beating up Matt Gursky. Reg also ruined his relationship with Barb after stating that one of her twins had no soul since one of them was a clone of the other, due to his beliefs. These examples show how religion can create dispute and opposition in relationships when applied too strictly. On the other hand, Reg and Kent's relationships is a good example of how religion and can bring people in sync. Reg and Kent shared the same beliefs, so Reg respected him, even more so than his own wife, and was constantly defending him even in ridiculous situations, such as in sixth grade when Kent complained about Easter egg's indirectly hinting at lust. Also, Jason and Cheryl were united in marriage due to religion, and would have remained as one till death parted them apart.