I just finished a book that should be on every environmentalist or practitioner of religion's reading list. It's not the latest biological treatise; it's not a book of science at all. It's not a book of profound theological arguments. In fact, it's what might be called science fiction. But like a lot of good science fiction, it's frighteningly close to the tr uh. It's called The Year of the Flood, and it is written by Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood.

The novel paints a picture of the future that is bleak at best, and would be described by some as dystopian. Webster defines a dystopia as "an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives". Classic dystopian novels include George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451. Orwell warned against the dangers of governmental encroachment on individual freedoms. Bradbury spoke out against the dumbing down of culture. Atwood challenges the assumptions made in an increasingly materialistic and consumeristic world.

What makes Atwood's novel so compelling is the way she uses theological and liturgical language to pull together her story. Central to her tale is a religious cult known as God's Gardeners. The Gardeners seek to promote a counter-cultural lifestyle which promotes vegetarianism, recycling, organic farming, animal rights and a host of other ideals. And it is cast in religious terms. The book is organized around the liturgical calendar of the Gardeners, which includes saints' days devoted to the like of "St." Euell Gibbons (a naturalist in the last century), "St." Rachel Carson (of Silent Spring fame) and "St. Dian Fossey (the zoologist known for her work with mountain gorillas). Sprinkled through the book are hymns said to be taken from The God's Gardeners Oral Hymnbook. One, dedicated to Fossey, ends:

Among the green and misty hills,

Where once shy Gorillas gathered,

Your kindly Spirit wanders still,

In watchfulness, forever.

(The Year of the Flood, 314)

The Year of the Flood is not without humor, but it is also not for the faint hearted. Atwood holds nothing back. But in the almost brutal approach she takes, Atwood, like Orwell and Bradbury before her, causes the reader to ask him or herself some very hard questions, including the basic question every practitioner of religion must ultimately confront: Am I putting into action the values and principals I espouse, or, am I merely mouthing the words, echoing the doctrine and going through the motions?

The Year of the Flood may be fiction, but in many ways, it is still profoundly true.

(Photo Credit: Julian Weane, www.flickr.com/photos/ikaink/4887822303/)