This is one of my favorite Life of Pi quotes, if you havent read it, DO. It's brilliant.

“I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.”

When John read this quote, he misread it. I think you had to read the book to know which angle the writer is coming from. He is a zoo-keeper, and a religous boy. I thought he was trying to say: the illusion is that there is freedom outside of the cage (religous boundaries) when in reality, the freedom comes from maintaining boundaries.