Who is DeLoy Bateman from Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith and what is their importance?

DeLoy Bateman is a former Mormon and once taught Science at Colorado City High School. He says that the acquisition of knowledge made him realize the inconsistencies in his own religion. When we first meet DeLoy, he has just been excommunicated from the Mormon Church. A polygamist, he has two wives and numerous children. By the end of the book, DeLoy's has become a self-professed atheist, and although he still resides in the Colorado City community, he no longer practices polygamy. DeLoy claims that religion makes people happy because it gives them answers to some of life's hard questions. He believes, however, that the ability to think for one's own self is more important than being happy.