In the movie "A Time to Kill," what role does religion play in the pursuit of justice?

This is a difficult question. In the film, A
Time to Kill, written by John Grisham, I believe that religion can be seen in
different places, with different effects.

First of all,
Carl Lee Hailey, the father of the young black girl who was raped, beaten and left for
dead, is a God-fearing man. It is certain that taking the lives of two men is not
something that he would have considered under any other circumstances, but for his
daughter's near-death, and the good possibility that in the racist community of which
they are a part the men will go free, Carl Lee is ready to sacrifice himself to avenge
his daughter's attack.

Some people may not be aware that
the KKK (Klu Klux Klan) was made up of predominantly Protestant [white] men. The
KKK...

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...made frequent reference to America's
"Anglo-Saxon" and "Celtic" blood, harking back to 19th century nativism and
racialism priding themselves on being descended from the original
18th century British colonial revolutionaries...

In
reaction to social changes, the Klan
adopted anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist
and anti-immigrant slants....

When the organizer was done
with an area, he organized a huge rally, often with burning crosses and perhaps
presented a Bible to a local Protestant
minister

This is
an aspect of religion within the story that would have been behind the scenes, looking
directly to the members of the Klan who wanted Carl executed. They used all kinds of
intimidation for anyone who supported Hailey including burning down Jake's house,
threatening, Ellen Roark physically, and even Jake's secretary, Ethel, and her husband,
who later dies from the assault.

In another portion of the
film, the NAACP wants to represent Carl, and they try to use the influence of Carl's
pastor to get Carl to change his mind. Carl realizes that this will be of no benefit to
him or his family, which is what his pastor
should be thinking about. The NAACP and his pastor are more
interested in making headlines. Carl decides to take his chances with Jake, even though
Jake has no inkling, as a southern white male what it means to be black in the
South.

This last example or religion's place is probably
the most relevant to the plot. The support a church-going man might hope to expect from
his congregation is not there. (As seen with the church's support of Tom Robinson in
To Kill a Mockingbird.) His family is not being provided for, and
Carl's family is everything to him, not the agenda his pastor and the NAACP. Religion
does not, in this instance, do anything to help Carl's case.