The Case Against Religion

I've just finished reading 'God is Not Great: The Case Against Religion' by Christopher Hitchens.

I've generally avoided the recent wave of antitheist books as I'm not quite sure what they have to offer me. I hope I don't appear immodest when I say that I doubt the likes of Dawkins, etc. can add anything to my disbelief. I already know most of the arguments for the divine, and I've read some of the extremely insightful and eloquent critiques of them (of which more later).

The reason I decided to pick up this book is simply that I'm a fan of Hitchens writing, even on the occasions when I disagree with his position (such as the invasion of Iraq).

On that level the book lived up to my expectations. Like him or not, Hitchens is probably one of the most interesting writers of our time: incredibly eloquent and with an insight into the world gleamed from both arduous study – of literature, science and history – and first-hand experience from such diverse places as North Korea, Bosnia and India. I tore through this book in a matter of days and while most of it simply told me what I already knew there were still some interesting nuggets of information to be found. I wasn't aware, for example, that the concept of zero had been considered heretical by the papacy in the Middle Ages. Nor that the term “Big Bang” was originally intended to ridicule the event it's supposed to describe.

The main thesis of the book – that religion can be an intensely destructive force - is also extremely well argued: highlighting the way religious claims have been used as justification for savagery and genocide in the past and the way they continue to spread fear and suffering in the present. The churches and their flocks have stood in the way of scientific advances from trying to stamp out the wisdom of the Greeks through opposing the theories of Copernicus, Galileo and Darwin and onto the spreading of disease and misery through opposition to contraceptives and certain life-saving vaccines in the modern day.

No-one with an open mind can come away from this book without regarding our numerous religions as – at best – a mixed blessing. However, it falls far short from demonstrating its central claim: that religion poisons everything.

It's this reaching too far that ultimately undermines the book and makes it an interesting rather than great read. I would think that any liberal religious believer reading it would be left with an awareness of how careful we have to be not to slip into dogmatism and authoritarianism, but I doubt that their religious belief would be significantly shaken.

This, for me, is one of the ironies about the alleged new wave of “militant atheism”: while criticised for their attacks against the idea of the divine, their arguments actually lack the weight of past figures such as David Hume, Tom Paine or Bertrand Russell. In terms of deconstructing religious arguments Hitchens has nothing on Hume or Russell. Nor in his detestation of religion does he match the passion and forensic approach of Paine.

Anyone looking to tackle the arguments of devout believers would gain far more from reading the essays of Bertrand Russell, Hume's 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion', Paine's 'Age of Reason' or even A.J. Ayer's 'Language, Truth and Logic'.

Anyone looking for a cracking read will find 'God is Not Great' well worth their time.