My wife and I went to see “The Book of Mormon” last Saturday. I was aware, of course, that it was written by the creators of “South Park,” but even at that, I was astonished by how gratuitously salty the language was. It was surprising that more of the wealthy, well-dressed women in the audience didn’t walk out.
For all that, “The Book of Mormon” is pro-religion, albeit from an unusual angle. It goes to great pains to lay out the essential tenets of Mormonism, which, to any average person, are logically and empirically ludicrous. The Mormon missionaries then embellish the story to make it even preposterous. The African natives ultimately accept the religion even though they acknowledge that large parts of it are just metaphor because they think it contains greater truths. They are happier and better off as a result.
A perceptive member of the audience will note that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are peppered with logical absurdities, too; Mormonism simply takes them to a higher level. And so, “The Book of Mormon” leaves us with a lot of compelling and familiar questions. What is the relationship between faith and reason? Are people genetically predisposed to be religious? Is it right to believe in something that doesn’t make any logical sense just because it improves your life?
The answers to those questions, alas, will await another day on this blog.