Religion In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

It has been claimed that religion was born in a time where there was little knowledge of the world, therefore, mankind needed something to believe in. God was then an idea that allowed everyone to sleep at night with a sense of purpose and comprehension. Yet, Albert Einstein was known to be one of the most exceptional thinkers of this century, as well, as a believer in God. He famously stated, “The more I study science, the more I believe in God.” This contradicts the idea that reason and religion cannot coexist. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the author uses these seamingly exclusive concepts of reason and religion to suggest that humans are only driven by their own worldview.

Martel admits that even he is not immune to being the center of his own attention. He mentions in one of his side notes, “This house is more than a box full of icons. I

Pi tries to make the Japanese men understand that he knows their misguided intentions by saying, “I know what you want. You want a story that won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently.” (302) The men interrogating Pi wanted a story that they could grasp easily in order to appease their advisors as well as their own minds. This is one of man’s many limiting flaws. Like the men choosing to doubt Piscine because it contradicted their former understanding of what was possible, people who do not believe in a higher power make the same mistake. Pi, bothered by agnostics, who make this choice, states, “To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.” (17) This illustration, shows how limiting relying solely on human knowledge can be. Religion allows humanity to not rely on its own understanding, but rather allows people to be fulfilled even when they aren't able to make sense of