Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor, is a novel that is both fascinating and disturbing. Wise Blood is the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old soldier who returns from World War II and finds herself trapped in a battle between faith and unbelief. He becomes captivated by a pastor named Asa Hawks and his fifteen-year-old bastard daughter, Lily Sabbath. In order to prove how pessimistic Motes is, he founds the Christless Church of God, but is still frustrated that he cannot lose his faith in a higher power. He later meets Enoch Emery, a young man who shows him a mummified "holy child" and is greatly influenced by Hazel's struggles, later becoming Hazel's companion in her endeavors. This story is about redemption, revenge, greed, false prophets and wisdom. The book is such a captivating piece that there are many reviews of it and about it. Jeffrey Lilburn wrote a literary review, "Faith and Religion in Wise Blood", of Flannery O'Connor's novel Wise Blood, describing its writing as "violent". , dark and grotesque, but spiritual and religious. To support his argument that the book is grotesque and dark, he references the incident in which Haze, the main character, murders a man by running him over with his car. Additionally, Enoch, another main character, beats and strips a man for personal gain. These two examples illustrate the scandalous amount of violence, gratuitous violence at that, but it also highlights that the author balanced the grotesque nature of the book with the spiritual nature, or lack thereof. Ben Satterfield wrote a literary review, "Wise Blood, Artistic Anemia, and the Hemorrhage of O'Connor's Criticism," of Flannery O'Connor's novel Wise Blood, rejecting the popular belief that Wise Bl.... . middle of paper ...... leaders. Over time, religious and moral differences between Democrats and Republicans have influenced how some people identify with each group. This has happened in recent years, where abortion and same-sex marriage have become popular topics in politics and religion. Many people have argued that the idea of ​​separation of church and state is unsatisfied. No matter the topic, there are bound to be opinions that support or reject the ideas, but overall, religion is a benefit to society. As research has shown, religion promotes respect and self-control in children, charity in adults, and peace, or absence of violence, in communities. When religious extremists take power and fuel conflict, there are bound to be negative consequences. When religions and those who practice them are respected, this can only benefit a society and help it develop...