Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika Spirituality Quotes

These lines come from one of the dummy Mormon sons in the diorama room. (By dummy we mean mannequin – we're sure he's a very smart dummy.) The fact that the boy uses the words "Zion" and "exodus" instantly reveals the connections between Judaism and Mormonism. "Zion" is an ancient Hebrew word for the Promised Land – Israel, basically. And "exodus" makes us think of the Jews' journey out of Egypt, where they escaped slavery and eventually came to Israel. The use of these terms here seems to ask us to compare the journey of the ancient Hebrews to that of the Mormons.

Louis, a Jew, has no respect for Joe's Mormonism. He just cannot wrap his brain around the fact that Joe is a Mormon, which doesn't even seem like a real religion to him. Throughout the play, these two characters help us compare and contrast these two religions. (Note that Christianity is the 2,000-year-old religion Louis is referring to here. Judaism is even older.)

In the first part of Angels in America, Joe really struggled with his homosexuality. He was taught as a child that being gay was evil. Now, though, it seems like he's beginning to be able to square his sexual preference with his faith.