Religulous

The ultimate form of control and effective use of the panopticon is best seen through religion. Instead of a guard tower this form of "watching" is done through an invisible force that can never be seen or touched, yet it has set a marker of rules that reward or punish as well as keeps tabs on everyone's life. Unfortunately, it is hard to mistake religion and religious texts as man's way of instilling power and conformity for people and to keep society from erupting into anarchy. Religion was the first use of panopticism and is still the most effective way to instill discipline and the fear of punishment through a set of preordained texts.
In Foucault's Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, he outlines how the panopticon essentially deconstructs the human body and mind into becoming submissive to the rules and commands of those in power (in this sense, God). In his chapter on corrective training he cites, "In discipline, punishment is only one element of a double system: gratification-punishment. And it is this system that operates in the process of training and correction"(180). This is similar to the punishment and reward system of religion. In many faiths and beliefs one who does well by the standard of the system will recieve the prospects of a good life and the potential of reaching a higher state of being. On the contrary, one who disobeys religion and chooses a life of sin, is destined to a life of hardship and punishment down the road. Foucault's system of reward and punishment is identical to religion and it's use of correcting and disciplining.
Even Foucault, in his chapter on Docile bodies makes a direct reference to his theory and to religion. He describes a setting of a classroom and the use of a signal in which the children are supposed to react to. "Whenever a good pupil hears the noise of the signal, he will imagine that he is hearing the voice of the teacher or rather the voice of God himself calling him by his name...the pupil will have to have learnt the code of the signals and respond automatically to them" (166). The signal that the students react to can be attributed to sin, or for not as strong a word, something out of the ordinary. The reaction by the students is similar to the reaction of something seeing something out of the ordinary and perhaps against the proper set of protocol. In short, Foucault proves that there are automated responses taught to us when something occurs. Through religion these responses occur to signals such as to the deadly sins or anyone with a separate faith.

WORKS CITED
Foucault, Michel. "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Random House: New York. 1979