Exposing the Hypocrisy of Religion in Emily Dickinson Some keep the Sabbath by going to churchWho does society consider the faithful? Is he the man on the street corner shouting for everyone to repent of their sins before the apocalypse? Is he the fanatic who straps a bomb to his body and enters a crowded market? Is it the monk who renounces all his worldly possessions and takes refuge in a monastery? While these may be extreme examples of faith, they all have one thing in common; they are conveying their devotion in their own way. It does not matter who people choose as god, whether it is Allah, Buddha, Jesus or Vishnu. The only common aspect of every religion is worship. Congregations around the world are supposed to demonstrate their faith by praying in their local synagogue, church or mosque. A place of worship can be a huge monstrosity of a building or a small clapboard house in the middle of a cornfield. It doesn't matter where you worship, what matters is that you are there to worship. In Emily Dickinson's poem, "Some keep the Sabbath by going to church"; the speaker conveys his faith and devotion in God by communing with nature, thus creating his own church at home. By juxtaposing the solemnity of worship with the natural beauty of her own backyard, Dickinson questions the hypocrisy of conventional religion. The first quatrain sets the tone for the poem: Some keep the Sabbath by going to church, I keep it, staying at home, with a Bobolink for a Chorister-And an Orchard, for a Dome- (1-4) The first word of the poem it is an affront to society; the “Some” in question are the people who feel they must respect society's conventions and attend church to show their piety. Hypocrites and skeptics attend church because that is what is expected of them, and they must maintain the façade. In this single word Dickinson is able to illustrate how “some” people buckle under the pressure of conformity. The first two lines of the stanza create a chiasmus, emphasizing the “going” of the people and the “staying” of the speaker. People who attend church as a mere formality are actually giving up part of their faith, but by staying home and truly living with God, the speaker keeps something for themselves.