Religion Theme Analysis

Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah explores the dangers of religion, especially when mixed with forces of government. In Dune Messiah’s prequel, Dune, the Fremen people of Arrakis choose Emperor Paul Atreides as their messiah, and Paul starts a religious jihad. When Dune Messiah picks up 12 years later, the powerful jihad continues to reign supreme. Paul struggles to steer humanity toward safety while also maintaining his role as messiah for the Fremen people. Not only does this dual responsibility weigh on Paul, but the religious Jihad has become corrupt: it has conquered most of the universe, killing billions of people and leading thousands of religious pilgrims to flock to the streets of Dune. These pilgrims are fanatical to an extreme degree, supplicating themselves before Paul and his sister Alia as gods, much to the siblings’ irritation. Paul often wishes that he could escape the jihad through retreating to the desert or even death, but he knows that his name will outlive him and continue to fuel the corrupt jihad. Eventually, Paul discovers that the head of Arrakis’ religious group, the Qizarate, has been conspiring to overthrow him. This discovery reveals the disingenuousness and corruption of the group’s fanatical religiosity and brings Paul’s mounting frustration with the jihad to a climax. Ultimately, Paul ends his life and his rule by walking into the desert, fulfilling a Fremen requirement of all blind citizens. Consequently, Paul act allows him to evade deification by the jihadists while also ensuring their lasting respect and induction of his children as heirs to his empire. Thus, the novel ends with the message that religion, when practiced to a fanatic degree, is a threat to government. As such, Dune Messiah makes the claim that governments operate most smoothly when humans trust humanity above religious authority.