Faith or Force: Religion and Power in 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' Anonymous 12th Grade

Religion by definition is a strong belief in a supernatural power that controls human destiny.In the modern world, there are various diverse faiths to practice and follow. Such is not the case in the futuristic dystopian world that hosts the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? written by Philip. K. Dick. The sci-fi novel follows Rick Deckard and his quest to retire androids while combating his thoughts towards the dominant religion and the corrupt system he works under. Enter Mercerism, a religion established from the emotion, empathy that links the collective together. On multiple occasions, Dick uses motifs such as the Voight- Kampff test; a test to determine whether someone is an android or not, and mood organs. This subtly segregates the ones who fail the test or refuse to use the mood organ, thus subduing the population into fear of lacking empathy or not having it at all. Evolving Mercerism from a faith to a force, rooting its hold on society's expectations evidently shown in the exclusion of collective groups, the lacking of empathy in the unlikeliest of individuals and unethical tools to classify social standings.

Throughout the novel, citizens deemed as specials, individuals with physical or mental disabilities...