Spirituality

Another Roadside Attraction is centrally concerned with the idea of spiritual fulfillment. Conversely, the novel is also highly critical of organized religion, arguably the most common means by which people seek spiritual satisfaction. Robbins depicts the Catholic Church as a duplicitous, manipulative entity bent upon using its faithful to further its own political and economic ends. Catholic leaders have willfully suppressed the knowledge that Christ never returned from the dead, predicating the "resurrection myth" for the sake of the Church's survival. This contradicts the notion of spirituality as quest for hidden truths. The quest for truth, in this case, is obstructed by a false assumption.

Robbins advocates a more intimate approach to faith, one which allows for both change and accountability. Amanda, through the power of trance, engages the divine directly, removing the need for ecclesiastical mediation. Since Amanda's beliefs are her own, and not based upon an...