Mercerism is a religion that plays an important role in uniting humans—and by extension, separating them from androids. One underlying idea is that the desolate post-nuclear-war society offers people very few opportunities to forge bonds of empathy, which underlie the communal impulses that help hold society together. Through promoting the idea of the sacredness of life—including the animals prized as pets—the underlying philosophy denigrates androids as non-humans.

Mercer is not only a man but a symbolic representation of all human’s feelings for each other, which include gratitude and compassion for his undeserved suffering. He is a Christlike figure whose sacrifice allows for the survival of others. If such misfortunes could befall him, they could happen to anyone. Identification with his ordinariness and the randomness of his travails encourages people to connect not only with him but with each other. Mercerism is actually an invention, not based in the experiences of a real person, which encourages consumerism and complacency as well as empathy.

In Mercerism, common experiences are generated through use of the empathy machine. The mechanical reproduction of Mercer’s struggle includes the painful sensation of his being wounded. Not only does this experience connect an individual user to Mercer, it brings them unity with their fellow followers.