What is the importance of religion in the novel, Universal Harvester?

Churches represent the search for meaning, which this novel refuses to solve for us. What is one working toward in life? What are the things that mean the most? Each character in this novel interprets these questions with drastic differences, and the reader is left to interpret whether these people lead fulfilled lives, and what makes them this way or not.

The importance of these questions to the novel and its characters makes the institution that attempts to provide clear answers on these fronts, the church, an important symbol in turn. The most conspicuous example of the role of the church in this novel is the role it plays in Irene Sample’s life. Initially quite religious (although in a quiet, internal sort of way), she attended church regularly before being married to Peter Sample. However, after moving away from her hometown community and marrying a non-religious man, this creates a hole in her life which she attempts to fill with the indoctrinating words of Michael Christopher.

In less obvious way, Lisa Sample’s church is the shrine she has built in her mother’s memory, dedicated to the continued life of her memory: the shed in the Collins House where she assembles the tapes. It is a center of purpose for her, and a way in which she can feel connected to someone she has lost, both central features of churches and religion.