Larkin's "Church Going": a failed exploration of religious faith Murdoch's critique of artistic and natural beauty, entitled The Sovereignty of the Good and Other Concepts, cites Plato's belief that "beauty is the only spiritual thing we love" by instinct." Therefore, beauty is the only spiritual connection that atheist Philip Larkin seeks in a church. Larkin's poem Church Going, begins as a confessional as he mentions how he often stops at random churches, perhaps because he is looking for a place of worship that is beautiful, both naturally and artistically, in the nature of the church he is looking for a warm group of people, rather than an uptight group regarding artistic beauty, Larkin is looking for truthful religious scriptures and an aesthetically pleasing environment, not in the sense of luxurious windows and gilded decorations, but rather in an inviting sense. Larkin begins ChurchGoing by confessing his unfamiliarity with the church and religious practices, therefore creates a scenario of a world without faith where churches are no longer used, which is possible by taking into consideration the political issues that occurred around the publication of this poem (1955). Larkin creates a scenario of a world free from religion as a way to unconsciously rationalize his worries and uncertainties about his own afterlife, and also to create "good art" while sitting in this church full of "bad art". deteriorate when he realizes that there is no natural beauty in this particular church. His discomfort is evident in the first stanza of the poems in which he describes the nature of the church as tense with "a tense, musty, unignorable silence" and typical, with th. ..... half of the paper ... and focuses solely on beauty for a hookup. Ultimately, Larkin's epiphany lies in his ability to produce beautiful writing as he reflects in this unwise church on his ability to tell the "ugly." truth" and providing his honest but controversial views on religion, makes Larkin a good artist according to Murdoch's The Sovereignty of Good and OtherConcepts. Works Cited Larkin, Philip. "Church Going." The Norton Introduction to Poetry. Ed. Paul Hunter, AlisonBooth, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2007. Murdoch, Iris. “From The Sovereignty of the Good and Other Concepts.” Online publication 1 March 2010. 21 April 2010. Walker, Jim. "Hitler's Religious Beliefs and Fanaticism." Professional Website. July 7, 2001. April 20, 2010.>.