Atwood on Religion

This is a bit of a grim interview, but it's interesting nonetheless.

I haven't read A Handmaiden's Tale but I could still follow this interview about repressive regimes and the loss of human rights in America. The book is set in a future where women are denied their freedom in the name God and the country. The creepy part is, every horrible thing that happens in the book has happened in humanity's history, making it disturbingly realistic. Margaret Atwood clearly believes that a loss of freedom and democracy could happen in the United States, another scary idea that she presents in this interview. There are other interesting points about Christianity, witches and the weakness of our society in the interview as well.

From a writer's perspective, I think the background information she gathered for her novel adds to its strength. Instead of just making up a future, she based the fictional novel on her views about humanity, making the novel true in a strange and scary way.