Discuss how the theme (religion) relevant to the various priests in the novel.

A major theme that Paton develops throughout Cry, the Beloved Country is the importance of always acting with a sense of kindness. There is a specifically Christian connotation to this value, as demonstrated by the dominant Christian influence of the characters, most specifically the pastors Stephen Kumalo and Theophilus Msimangu. Paton promotes the idea that adhering to this simple sense of kindness is at least a partial solution to the problems in South Africa; it is the reciprocal kindness between Jarvis and Kumalo that causes the bond between them to develop, while it is Kumalo's kindness to the small white boy that is the impetus for Jarvis to work on behalf of South Africa by donating milk to work against the drought and by arranging for the placement of new farming methods in Ndotsheni.