Religion was supposed to be a blanket drawn up to your chin to keep you warm, a promise that when it came to the end, you wouldn't die alone - but it could just as easily leave you shivering out in the cold, if WHAT you believed became more important than the fact THAT you believed.
In Jodi Picoult's "Change of Heart," the author explores the complex nature of faith and belief. Religion is depicted as a comforting presence meant to provide warmth and assurance in times of uncertainty. It serves to promise the individual that, in moments of fear or anxiety about death, they would not face the end alone. However, this ideal can be threatened when the specifics of one's beliefs overshadow the fundamental act of believing itself.
Beliefs can become divisive, pushing individuals away from one another instead of uniting them in shared faith. When the emphasis shifts from the essence of belief to the details of dogma, it can leave individuals feeling isolated and abandoned, much like being left out in a cold without the warmth of the promised support. Through this observation, Picoult invites readers to reflect on the importance of connection and the potential drawbacks of rigid belief systems in the pursuit of spiritual solace.
