Merchant of Venice: Secular and Religious Points of View The secular and religious points of view of both Antonio and Shylock have been described very frankly. Both characters' religious views were that their religion was superior to that of infidels and also very stereotypical. In business Antony owned ships with valuable goods and was extremely generous. He always counted on their return to shore and expressed his confidence in this book. On the other hand, Shylock was a greedy man and used the Bible as a source of interest to raise more money. In terms of religious views, Antony and Shylock were very parallel, but in terms of business the two were reversed. “I [Shylock] hate [Antonio] because he is a Christian… [Antonio] hates our sacred nation.” This phrase said by Shylock, a Jew, is based on other Jews' beliefs about other Christians. Shylock is very stereotypical because Shylock doesn't really know Antonio, Shylock has heard about Christians hating Jews, so he thinks all Christians hate Jews. Antonio seems to be a great man and Shylock didn't even give him a chance, he just hates Antonio because he is of different religion. "The Jew [Shylock] will become a Christian; he will become a Gentile." Antonio says this thinking that no Jew is kind, underlining his naivety. Then Antonio sees the Jew, Shylock, becoming lovable, and believes this is impossible. So Antonio interprets the scenario as Shylock being Christianized, because he is becoming generous. This quote shows how Anthony thinks his religion, Christianity, is superior to Judaism. The previous quote illustrated how Shylock was a stereotype about Christians. Both characters have similar beliefs about other religions. "Why, fear not, friend, I won't! Within these three months - that is, one month before this bond expires - I expect a return of three times three times the value of this bond." This phrase was said by Antonio assuring Shylock that his ship with all its goods will return with the interest that Antonio owes Shylock for borrowing money. This shows Antony's confidence in his ship even though there were strong winds and high chances of his ship being capsized. Antonio is very naive about the real world of business and no matter what happens, he thinks he will succeed. On the other hand, Shylock is a wise, but very greedy businessman..