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THE QUESTION
Hitchens on Religion
Best-selling atheist Christopher Hitchens wrote: "Religion is violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children." Why is he right or wrong?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on September 26, 2007 1:14 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Logical Path from Religious Beliefs to Evil Deeds
It is easy for religious faith, even if it is irrational in itself, to lead a sane and decent person, by rational, logical steps, to do terrible things.
Posted by Richard Dawkins, on October 2, 2007 9:55 AM
Fundamentally Missing the Point
His approach doesn’t add up, given the good people I know who find in faith a beautiful, intellectual, satisfying, and giving life.
Posted by Donna Freitas, on October 2, 2007 8:58 AM
Fair and Balanced Hitchens
Certainly, one can appreciate that Chris has made known the fitting targets of his moral indignation: Mother Theresa but not Vice President Cheney. Perhaps for Chris, the former is the threat to the world; the latter, only to duck hunters.
Posted by Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, on October 2, 2007 8:00 AM
Beware Secular Fundamentalists
Mr. Hitchens shares with other fundamentalists a blindness to shades of gray.
Posted by Randall Balmer, on October 2, 2007 7:45 AM
Religion Messes Up and Straightens Out the World
1922 came to my mind, Hitch, when I read this of yours: “Religion is violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children.”...
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on October 2, 2007 5:15 AM
Less Anti-theism, More Humanism
I have zero belief in god, gods, goddesses, or any other manner of supernatural spirits....My conviction that this life is all I have, however, is precisely why I don’t want to spend my days focused on the worst in religion. I prefer seeking the best in each of us. I am not an antitheist, and not simply an atheist, but a Humanist.
Posted by Greg M. Epstein, on October 1, 2007 9:10 AM
One Aspersion Fits All
This collection of faults is surely untrue of religion as a whole, even though some of these traits may be true of certain religions.
Posted by Adin Steinsaltz, on October 1, 2007 8:24 AM
Warning Labels
Hitchens is in error if he believes the world will be a better place if the quest for God disappears – because it isn’t going to disappear or diminish. What is happening, and will continue, is that the search will take new paths and an increasing variety of forms.
Posted by James Anderson, on October 1, 2007 7:18 AM
Standing With, and Disagreeing With, Christopher Hitchens
Mr. Hitchens is wrong because of the innumerable exceptions to what he would have as a universal rule that religion is unhealthy for humanity.
Posted by Jim Cooper, on October 1, 2007 5:02 AM
Polemical, Unreasonable, Bizarre
I can’t speak for people of all other faiths, but millions of Christians who practice their religion know from personal daily experience that they are better people because of it.
Posted by Michael Otterson, on September 30, 2007 7:45 AM
A Distorted View of Religion
Why can Hitchens not acknowledge the positive contribution of religious persons? Could it be because his reading of religion is a narrow and distorted one?
Posted by Chester Gillis, on September 30, 2007 6:01 AM
Faithful Often Fail, Never Give Up
Many of us - inspired by our faith - are devoting our lives to working for justice, compassion, equality, mutual care and respect, and the pursuit of peace and wisdom.
Posted by Brian D. McLaren, on September 30, 2007 5:04 AM
Shout Louder
I would suggest that Mr. Hitchens read a good book: professor of sociology Rodney Starks' The Victory of Reason. It might embarrass Mr. Hitchens in his ranting and raving, but probably not.
Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on September 29, 2007 7:30 AM
Zero-sum Statements Are Inherently Boring
Hitchens' statement is fully protected by the First Amendment. He's got every right to declare his opinion. So does the guy wearing the "Yankees Suck" t-shirt.
Posted by Gustav Niebuhr, on September 29, 2007 7:23 AM
Human Behavior, By Any Other Name...
We could substitute the word 'atheism' for 'religion' in Hitchens' quote and it would still work.
Posted by Nicholas T. Wright, on September 28, 2007 10:25 PM
What About the Atheists?
One is led to ask Mr. Hitchens some questions. Where are the great atheist-sponsored charitable and reform movements? Where are the atheist children homes and orphanages? Where are the atheist leaders who are taking vows of poverty and giving themselves in sacrificial service to others?
Posted by Richard Land, on September 28, 2007 7:22 AM
Only Part of the Story
Religion can indeed be, "violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children." It does not, however, have to be.
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on September 28, 2007 7:08 AM
History, Atheism and Religion
Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism were all efforts to expunge all religions. Out of their experiments, scores and scores of millions were tortured or killed.
Posted by Martin Marty, on September 28, 2007 6:54 AM
Religion as a Black Market for Irrationality
Being stocked stem to stern with incredible ideas, the world’s religions have had to find some way to circumvent reason, without repudiating it.
Posted by Sam Harris, on September 27, 2007 1:30 PM
Religion is Human, God is Divine
God has nothing to do with religion. What God has everything to do with is relationships.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on September 26, 2007 3:00 PM
Religion for Adults
The image that kept coming into my mind as I was reading Mr. Hitchens’ book God is Not Great is of a large child stamping his foot and screaming in rage because things aren’t going his way. “Religion Poisons Everything!” he rants. Everything? Really, Christopher, every single thing? I doubt it.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on September 26, 2007 2:25 PM
God Is Not...Well, He's Just Not
There are good people who believe in all sorts of gods or no god. Why are atheists so threatening to so many Americans that the only way to deal with our arguments is to demonize us as human beings?
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on September 22, 2007 8:57 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
Nancy C. Thomas McInnes: It's all about faith. You either choose to believe in God (there's just one) or you choose not to. God's teachings are not supposed to be ea...
Matt: Hitchens simply lists some characteristics of human behavior. But the capacity for extended philosophical argument is not one of Hitchens's ...
Pablo: If Hitchens is truly an atheist I would like to know on what basis he calls certain actions right or wrong? Good and evil rest on the belie...
