Religious Aspect of Aura

Being a religious individual, I have always been greatly disturbed by the ways in which religion is used through practicing certain rituals, particularly those where people feel bound to God through their actions and therefore can justify what they are doing. The ways in which I practice my religion are traditional and according to what my religion expects from me. The most disturbing part of this novel for me was when Aura breaks the wafer over her body to symbolize a form of communion for Felipe. As well, the way he falls over her naked body positioned as if she were crucified. When he fell upon her, I viewed this as a form of personal sacrifice, as if Felipe was willingly assuming the crucified position to give his life to Aura, similar to the way Jesus did on the cross. These disturbing images violate the ways in which I view my own religion, and in turn, are greatly unsettling to me. It is almost as if Aura feels she has some divine power within her to perform this ritual--a sense of divinity which is greatly misplaced. I feel that this connection to religion only exists to fill Aura with some sense of empowerment, rather than to maintain some faith she has in a higher power.