Hythloday's account of the state of religion in Utopia reveals numerous points of resemblance to Christianity but also some striking differences from certain religious practices in 1516. His remote islanders believe in one supreme and omnipotent deity, and their belief in immortality is very strong. Other resemblances to Christianity are: their high standard of morality, their priestly caste, their ascetics, their prayers, and their hymns. It is not surprising that, when they were instructed in the teachings of Christ, they found them appealing and were readily converted. The similarities between the two religions are in matters of ethical teachings and metaphysics, not in those practices which were criticized most frequently as church abuses.
The points of difference between the Utopian religion and the Christian are sometimes startling. At the outset, we learn that the Utopians were granted religious freedom and that a variety of sects were extant, each with its particular doctrines and special ceremonies. No such liberality was to be found in the Roman Catholic world, which was firm in its insistence upon the principle of one church and one authoritative doctrine.
The elimination of superstition from the Utopian scene represents an improvement for which the Christian reformers had long been clamoring.
