Theme of Religion and christamas

• The middle-ground is the belief that:

  • Dickens is in support of religious values in isolation but doesn't think that religion is being practiced properly in society.
  • Hence, he presents religious ideals in the text but still criticises some aspects of the way religion is observed.
  • This is seen through the fact that he does idealise values such as being charitable and going to church.
• However, he still challenges religious hypocrisy during Stave Three:

  • when the Ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge that people "claim to know" religion but do things out of "passion, pride, ill-will,“ in its name.
  • specifically in reference to the practice of closing shops on Sundays (Sabbatarianism) as this prevents the lower class from enjoying the brief time they have off work
  • this also applies to the wider practice of religion in society and so acts as a social commentary.