Roots: The Saga of an American Family Religion Quotes

The trick, we think, might be to create your own meaning in your suffering. That's the point of religion, right? By giving us a guidebook through life, religion gives us a sense that we are not alone in our struggles, and that good can rise up against evil.

It's a story as old as time—devoutly religious boy meets devoutly religious girl of a different faith. We're teasing of course, but the truth is that Kunta's growing relationship with Bell shows him that Christians aren't so bad after all. They might not call the dude upstairs by the same name, but they're not the heathens he initially assumed them to be.

Kunta still isn't all that enthusiastic about Christianity, but he's made his peace with the religion after seeing how much of his African heritage is present in their rituals. This is an important reminder of the communal and cultural aspects of religion, which are just as important as its spiritual components.