Part 1 of Essay
In Hardy's , Hardy shows his views on religion and commitment to the Church which were said to have declined in the latter years of his life. (Ingham, xxvii) Throughout the book Hardy displays his feeling that religion is something that people use in order to satisfy themselves by giving their lives' meaning. One instance ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... should not just blindly follow religion without deciding for themselves that this is what they want. People should not be as Jude who becomes obsessed with religion simply because his mentor Phillotson felt this way. One of the major reasons that causes Hardy to have these views is that he feels religion leads to hypocrisy. He feels that man has many desires that go against the laws of religion, and these desires lead man to feel very hypocritical. These feelings of hypocrisy then cause man to have many ....