"Christianity without tears - that's what soma is [?]"

In Brave New World, the quote that caught my attention the most is “Christianity without tears – that’s what soma is” (238). As a devout and solid Catholic, I was very offended at first when I read this passage as it seems that a very old religion, that has been the foundations of cultures of many societies, is now being compared with an addicting drug that pacifies the needs of a society.

 As I kept on reading this passage, I realized how Huxley can compare Christianity with soma and that is through the functions of Christianity and soma in the societies. Christianity serves as a guiding way to the moral compass of a society as it states the laws or commandments that is needed for the society to be blessed by God, while soma in Huxley’s society serves as the needs of the society to control their morals that is compatible with the moral compass of Huxley’s society. Although the moral compasses of our society and Huxley’s society are completely opposite, both Christianity and soma still serve as a tool that guides the society to their own moral compasses.