Question

What points do you think hawthorne is trying to make about organized religion?

Answer 1

The Scarlet Letter shows readers the lives of a Puritan community in the 17th century. Religion (blind religion) meant everything to them, and the words of their Reverends was law. Breaking any religious rules was punished by public humiliation and punishment of the person who committed it, for example, Hester Prynne. When the church found out that she was committing adultery, they forced her to wear a scarlet letter 'A' on her chest, so that her sin could follow her everywhere and she (and others in the community), could be constantly reminded of it. 

This kind of belief in punishing supposed "sinners" made relationships between men and women in this Puritan community very strained. Religion governed their way of life. They failed to realize that no human is perfect, and no human can precisely follow that kind of a lifestyle. In the end, when the reader finds out who the man was that Hester had committed adultery with, it is obvious what Hawthorne was trying to communicate about such strict organized religion; no one is as perfect as God, therefore looking up to reverends and priests in such a blind belief is dangerous because they are only human and make similar mistakes as everyone else.