How does religion become a source of literature?

Answer 1

One answer:

All religions come with stories. Any story that is written down can be considered literature. Religious stories from such sources of Greek mythology, Hindu epics, and The Bible can be seen from the same literary standpoint as any other classic story.

Another answer:

Many famous writers were deeply influenced by religion, whether the theology itself or the stories from the Holy Scriptures that were well-known in their culture. For some, in fact, religion was the framework in which they wrote: this is especially true of certain Christian poets and authors who were preoccupied by concerns about hell, heaven, sin, salvation, etc. A good example is the British poet John Donne, who was a Christian minister in addition to a great poet. Many of his poems (written in the 1600s) had religious themes; it should also be noted that some had very secular themes too, like love and romance and even lust. But Donne struggled with trying to be spiritual in a world filled with temptation, and that struggle influenced his writing. The same is true for other authors, who wanted to uphold the teachings of their faith but who stumbled in their personal life and created vivid depictions of characters with similar struggles.

And even those writers who are entirely secular understand that a culture's traditions usually include religious stories-- in the west, there might be allusions to Adam and Eve or Moses; many stories about "Christ figures" are also common in literature. And it is not just western religion where such themes can be found: for example, in Hindu culture, there are many stories that allude to the activities and teachings of Krishna, Vishnu, and other deities. Whether the author accepts the theology of these stories, most understand the messages-- the Scriptures are filled with stories of good versus evil: people who lie or cheat or commit adultery versus people who are holy and selfless; people who are disreputable and unkind versus people who are forgiving and compassionate. The Scriptures are thus a wonderful resource for plot-lines in literature; the literary technique of "allegory" can be found in numerous secular works, and many authors from Shakespeare in the early 1600s to Flannery O'Connor in the mid-1900s to a number of current authors, and even song-writers, have drawn on religious themes.

Answer 2

While in modern times, people value the separation of church and state, in the old days, no such separation existed. Many of the greatest writers from the period from the 1400s through the mid-1800s were very religious; some were ordained ministers or scholars of religion, and even those who were skeptical of the dominant religion were still influenced by the practices in the culture of their time. Given that pervasive religious atmosphere, the influence of religious beliefs could be seen even on authors who had a secular job, such as being a businessman or working for the government. Religious themes were very evident in the writings of such well-known authors as Geoffrey Chaucer ("Canterbury Tales," for example) or in John Donne's Sonnets, or in the stories written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne (such as "The Scarlet Letter"). Even William Shakespeare, who by most accounts was not very religious, still used certain themes that could be found in the Bible.

In fact, the plots of some of the best literary works in England, and then in the United States, continued to draw on religious themes. Even if they had a secular subject like a character's search for love, the story might also address temptation and sin, or it might feature a battle between a good character and an evil one, or have a Christ-figure who is betrayed. And if the theme did not come from Scripture, many works contained allusions (references) to people and events in the Bible. To this day, even in our more secular world, authors and song-writers may still refer to Biblical characters because these stories are so widely known in the culture. And the same is true in Hindu or Buddhist or Muslim countries, where stories and personages from the scriptures are sometimes referenced in a play or a poem or a song.