- Published: September 30, 2022
- Updated: September 30, 2022
- University / College: University of Aberdeen
- Language: English
- Downloads: 50
The theme of Philip Larkin’s poem “ Church Going” is the erosion of religious abutments. this poem is perhaps his way of trying to understand the attraction of religion. The speaker of the poem sneaks into a church after making sure it’s empty. He lets the door thud shut behind him and glances around at all the fancy decorations, showing his ignorance of (or indifference to) how sacred all this stuff is supposed to be. After a short pause, he walks up to the altar and reads a few lines from the notes that are sitting on a lectern. After this, he walks back out of the church and slides an Irish sixpence into the collection box, which is basically like donating an old shirt button.
The speaker thinks that the place wasn’t worth stopping to check out. But he also admits that he did stop, and that this isn’t the first time he’s done so. He can’t help but wonder what he’s looking for when he keeps coming back to this place, and also asks himself about what will happen to churches when there are no more believers left in the world. He wonders if they’ll make museums out of the churches, or if they’ll just leave the buildings’ doors open so that sheep can hang out inside them. Nearing the end of the poem, the speaker asks what will happen to the world when religion is gone altogether. Then he wonders what the very last religious person will be like. Will they be an obsessive compulsive, who just can’t stop wanting to smell incense? Or will they be more like the speaker, someone who’s bored and ignorant about the church, and just passing by without knowing what they’re looking for? God gives humans guidelines to live their lives, which is something that a lot of people need.
Religion teaches you “ right” from “ wrong;” thus, religion becomes a necessary entity to keep society running smoothly. People inherently want answers: why was I born? Why did such and such have to happen to me? Religion is able to answer these questions, which gives us a purpose. Only those who are dead know the truth about whether there is a heaven or not.
