Give me that old time religion: reclaiming slave religion in the future

Abstract

Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents tell the story of a young visionary, Lauren Olamina, in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Lauren, the fifteen year old daughter of a black Baptist minister, reveals a religious philosophy called Earthseed as a means of helping her community deal with their circumstances; the community has been burned and pillaged and very few members of the community are alive. Earthseed is a progressive philosophy and appears to be a complete departure from traditional African American religion because it is so different from its immediate predecessor-black Baptist religion. However, upon closer inspection Earthseed helps its followers deal the harsh realities of life because it acts as and has much in common with the religion African American slaves practiced in the United States.