In the book The Life of Pi the main character, Piscine "Pi" Molitor Patel is a member of three different religions. He believes that all these religions are the same in the Martel is trying to say that all three religions are essentially the same. They all work towards an afterlife, and when it is all boiled down, all they want is to love God.

Pi was born a Hindu, but at the age of 14 he “met Jesus Christ”, he became a Christian in spirit and began attending church. A year later, when Pi was 15, he became a Muslim. He met a baker in the market who introduced him to Islam, which Pi describes as “a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion.” Pi continues on with his three religions, going to temple (Hinduism) on Fridays, Mosque (Islam) on Saturdays, and Church (Christianity) on Sundays. Unfortunately when he was sixteen, all his religious leaders showed up at his house, and demanded he choose just one religion. He becomes overwhelmed and blurts out “Bapu Gandhi said ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God.”

Pi has reached the heart of the religious matter of this book; organized religion is just a way to love God. When he is stranded on the boat, he has no bells to tell him when to stop what he is doing and give praise to Allah or any priests to give sermons on God and His Son. The acidic algae island is a metaphor for organized religion, in the sunlight it may seem helpful, and even beneficial, but underneath it is malicious. All the religions that Pi joined were open to him, before they found out that he was going to other religions. When they did find out, they began to subtly shun him, and forced him off to other houses of worship, but they could not stop him from believing.

Pi says at one point, to paraphrase, that it is not atheists who bother him, but agnostics. Atheists believe in that there is nothing out there, except what they can touch with their hands, see with their eyes, hear with their ears, etc. Whereas agnostics live by doubt “God might exist, but then again He might not…” Pi truly loves God, but he believes that everyone has the right to their own beliefs. This comes through in the fact that he never says that any religion is wrong, and is very accepting and open as a person. This book is told in the first-person point of view and as such, we get a closer look at Yann Martel’s mind.

Martel is saying, through his character, that everyone needs to believe in something whether it is a God, a pantheon of them, nature, or just science. Those who do not can never fully achieve a moment of faith. Without that moment of faith, we cannot be whole and sound. Without that moment of faith there will be no afterlife. Without that moment of faith, our souls will be eternally lost.