What Value does Religion Have to The Characters of Huck Finn?

Religion plays a large role in the lives of the characters of Huckleberry Finn, as well as the storyline. From the beginning of the story, Huck, unlike the rest of the characters in the story, doesn't even have a basic concept of what religion is. This lack of knowledge on religion seems to upset Widow Douglas, Huck's essential guardian, and she tries to explain to him the difference of Heaven and Hell to Huck, and how Huck is going to want to be a good Christian, so he may go to Heaven when he dies. This to me shows that religion, at least to Widow Douglas and most likely Miss Watson holds great value in their daily lives. Christianity is not the only religion that plays a role in the story line. Voodism as well, is added into the story when Huck finds out that his father, Pap Finn has found him, and is looking for his money. Huck goes to see his friend Jim, a slave of Miss Watson's for advice on the matter. Using his "Magic Hairball," Jim sees what is going on with Pap Finn at the time. Jim also has a "Five Center Piece," which he said was a charm that the devil himself had given him. Slaves from all over the area would apparently come to see Jim's Five Center Piece, but they wouldn't touch it, as they had believed that the devil had his hands on it. This relays to the reader that religion and superstition would also go hand in hand in the storyline as it continues. An example of these to aspects being combined would be when in Chapter Four of the story, Huck discovers that a mysterious person, or thing had been outside of the garden at Miss Watson's house. Huck later realized that this was his father, Pap Finn. Huck discovered this by looking at the footprints in the snow, and noticing that in the left boot heel of the tracks, there was a cross made out of nails to ward off the devil. This can be not only be associated with superstition, but religion as well. The idea of adding a cross to the soles of your shoes has a religious base to it, and was probably told to people like Pap Finn by a preacher of some sorts. So naturally in fear of the devil, Pap Finn added the cross to his boots to protect himself from any kinds of evil that may cross his path. As we read on, I expect that we will find more examples of religion and how it relates to the culture of the characters in Huck Finn.