Mercerism

As
is already addressed in the previous answers, Mercerism is the dominant religion, in 's novel,
following World War Terminus, whose central tenets encourage empathy between humans in a world
where that empathyand the understanding of what it means to be humanis being eroded. The figure
Dick chooses to represent the "Christ" persona in the religion is deliberately in the
same mold as most savior archetypes. Mercer is an ordinary person who has suffered for no real
reason, and for whom his followers can feel empathy because they know he doesn't deserve to be
discriminated against.

It is true that, ultimately, "Mercerism" is
exposed as a "scam," something created in a television studio with the goal of uniting
people in empathy and communal feeling. However, the fact remains that regardless of the truths
behind it, the religion generates the intended feelings in its followers, and it is very real to
them. One of the questions Dick poses in...