God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

By Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 19, 2008
• ISBN: 9781551991764

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens was born April 13, 1949, in England and graduated from Balliol College at Oxford University. The father of three children, he was the author of more than twenty books and pamphlets, including collections of essays, criticism, and reportage. His book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award and an international bestseller. His bestselling memoir, Hitch-22, was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. The New York Times named his bestselling omnibus Arguably one of the ten best books of the year. A visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School in New York City, he was also the I.F. Stone professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a columnist, literary critic, and contributing editor at Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Slate, The Times Literary Supplement, The Nation, New Statesman, World Affairs, and Free Inquiry, among other publications. Following his death, Yoko Ono awarded him the Lennon-Ono Grant for Peace.

Reviews for God Is Not Great

[stampfle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hundreds of other authors have shown how religion poisoned history. Now, Christopher Hitchens brings that saga of posioning up to date. This is a book you can not put down as sentence after sentence reminds the reader of the evils of religion and the horrors that can be committed in the 'name of god'. Not since Jack Miles' God: A Biographyhas the nightmare of the old testament been better enunciated. Buddhism seems to come off a bit better than most when he handles it with one of the most humorous moments in the book -- a buddhist monk asking a hot dog seller to 'make him one with everything'. A great book by a terrific author! There will surely be millions who disagree with him, but if read with an open mind this is a book that will help to understand better both sides of the oldest argument in human history.

[scottcholstad · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant. Witty. Clever. Not completely perfect. There are other books out there that deconstruct the myth of theism through physics, archaeology, biology, hell -- using thousands of verses from the "holy" book itself (the Bible), Dan Barker and many others show the plain lack of logic, consistency, accuracy, the bloodthirsty portrayal of a brutally evil god, etc, so that you really don't even need the sciences to show the Bible, the and any theistic god is completely made up and fictitious, and there's not even virtually any independent evidence at all that Jesus Christ ever even existed! Hitch could have gone in a lot of different directions, but chose to show how evil the Bible and its followers are and have been throughout the past several thousand years, and while I love how archaeology totally destroys Biblical myths, such as the Exodus, the flood, the invasion of Canaan, and so much more, and how the other hard sciences prove there is no evidence for a supernatural being, Hitch does an admirable work himself. And yes, there are some very negative reviews here. The vast majority of them are written by those he criticizes, and are hence defensive, vindictive, and utterly pointless. Skeptics, doubters, agnostics, atheists, and polytheists should read this book, certainly, but theists should try to read this book as objectively as possible, which I realize is asking a lot, but if they took some of his points and didn't automatically pump out a knee jerk reaction, but thought about things, some people may realize they haven't asked all the right questions, they haven't been given all of the information, they've been ... misled! Recommended.

[adam.currey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic in its field. Hitchens' elegant and sophisticated writing style might not suit everyone, and may at times seem obtuse without a passing familiarity with history and historical philosophers. Not necessarily for beginners.

[rsairs_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm sure I'm not alone in being one of those Christians who enjoyed Hitchens. I liked his style, candor, pugnacity. What a fun and rewarding evening it might have been to sit down and match wits, and even if you lost the argument (likely) it would be rewarding to rebuild your defenses. This book is enjoyable for a while but grows tiresome. If one knows some intellectual history, has read a little philosophy, knows a bit about the world's religions, has lived some of the same history, has read Fawn Brodie or Mary McCarthy and doesn't have to look up Sabbatai Zevi, maybe known a few Trotskyists, then it becomes a wee bit pedantic. I suppose it is written to rally nascent young atheists, and for them it will be inspiring. I found it strangely like a flashback to high school, which was a long time ago in my case. I had friends who loved to debate with me about my Christian beliefs, but about half the time the debate degenerated into uninspired comedy. One question, assertion, or challenge was fired right after another. As soon as one began to answer, another charge, assertion, question was hurled. God is not Great begins to have a similar effect. Assertions pose as arguments, conversation starters pose as argument closers, and just as you begin to dig in to one argument, the table is turned over and reset with new dishes. I suppose I'm also not alone in suggesting that Hitchen's real disgust is probably with humanity, or at least most of us except Mencken, Einstein, maybe Spinoza and a handful of others. It is no surprise to many of us, i.e. the other side, that religion is corruptible, prone to nurture charlatans, and problems. It is no surprise to us that ignorance has often reigned by force, and among the force it has employed have been the religions of the world. Anything with human fingerprints on it shares this same painful record. No amount of failure, duplicity, or cruelty is a defeater for Christians. No number of examples of religion in service of ignorance would be either. We're the people who believe in things like sin and human weakness, and believe that ground zero of human depravity is found in religious conceits. Hitchens draws easy lines between religion and the poisonous turns of human history. I found the book to be a long genetic fallacy, failing to look behind the curtain of corrupt religion to see if any other wizards might also be pulling the strings at times. Oh well. What a loss that Hitchens died too young. His was a keen mind and one it seems always in progress. Where might it have ended up?

[pelmel-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Arguments presented for the humanist case, the need to confront our comfortable consensus that religious beliefs should be respected, a respect that sometimes rubs up against legal rights of the individual.

[devil_llama · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As usual, Hitchens satisfies with a snappy writing style, at times eloquent and passionate, at other times sneering. Some of his arguments fall flat, and sometimes he lets a few of his political views interfere with his main thesis, but overall, it's a satisfying read for anyone who is fighting against the more poisonous aspects of public religion.

[rosielibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sharp, witty and extremely well-thought out arguments against the institution of religion, belief and faith.

[schant-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Highly enjoyable polemic on religions.

[joshuamichail · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Christopher Hitchens's 'God is not Great' is an interesting collection of well thought out arguments for why religions are harmful to humanity. In his work, Hitchens examines the thinking behind the many doctrines of several religions and exposes the fraudulent nature of many preachers. He eloquently takes down religious apologetics and dogmas, thoughtfully articulating with persuasive rhetoric why religious claims are not to be believed. I highly recommend 'God is not Great' for anyone who wants to take a critical look at religious doctrines.

[zojjz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well writ and well argued, if somewhat... misdirected? "Preaching to the choir" is perhaps an ironic idiom to choose, but nevertheless this is a prevailing feeling on my part.

[ifihadwordsto · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Christopher Hitchens shows by this book what an erudite and engaging writer he is. I was glad to have come to it after The God Delusion and after having downloaded the podcast of Hitchens's talk on religion at the Poetry & Prose bookstore in which he showed himself to be eloquent and amusing, cool and laconic. In short, he is good company, and a candidate for best communicator amongst the Four Musketeers of the New Atheism. In any event, his brand of left libertarianism should find a ready market.Having said that, I doubt whether this will turn out to be the strongest text on the side of the rationalists in their war against religious belief.Whilst this reviewer readily accepts that there is no evidence for god or the supernatural and that religions are essentially human constructs, he finds it difficult to accept Hitchens's secondary argument that religions are always the accomplices of tyranny and totalitarianism.In the case of apartheid, whilst Hitchens rightly points to the Dutch Reformed Church as being the spiritual stay of the National Party and its racist policies, he conveniently forgets the very long-standing role of the Anglican and other churches, including the South African Council of Churches, as a focus of organised political resistance to the government. In the case of communism in Eastern Europe, there is a case for dating the beginning of the end of that form of totalitarianism to the election of a Polish Pope in 1978. On his homecoming tour of Poland in June 1979 as Pope John Paul II, 500,000 people heard him speak in Warsaw and a quarter of the population attended his outdoor masses. Thereafter, the Catholic Church became an increasingly important political voice alongside that of the trade unions in the steady decline of the regime's power.Other readers may know of further examples. Why might organised religions be effective in coordinating resistance to tyrannical regimes? I have no clear explanation but these two examples at least show that such regimes are apparently reluctant to fire upon demonstrations which start their marches from places of worship. Thus, as the Reviewer in the Financial Times memorably pointed out upon first publication of this book, the proposition that religion poisons everything is a hypothesis that is readily falsifiable. Nonetheless, I wish Christopher Hitchens well in his battle with cancer of the oesophagous and look forward to reading more of his books on literature and politics.

[sandydog1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rambling and emotional, with many excellent, sometimes sickening, examples of the perversions of organized religions.

[phoebereading · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Maybe my primary problem with this book is that Hitchens is preaching to the choir--as an agnostic, I'm familiar with, and agree with, most of the arguments he presents here against organized religion, and he fails to give us any new or innovative arguments here. Additionally, his style is messy, disorganized, and rambling; his paragraphs, particularly, lack cohesion. It does pick up a bit in his discussions of the three major monotheistic religions and their texts, but ultimately, I wouldn't recommend this one if you're already an unbeliever.

[vibrantminds · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A look into religion and how it effects society today and its influence throughout all of history. It covers many aspects of religion and its force upon the world. Whether you believe in god or not the point is well made that religion is damaging as a whole and that a secular way of living brings a sense of peace that religion could never offer.

[yeremenko_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hitchens was a great writer. Some people don't like this book because he went after religion aggressively, the way the pious go after those they disagree with. I loved Hitchen's righteous anger at the charlatans and fools of religion.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are those who have decried Richard Dawkins as too fierce a crusader for the cause of atheism. If you are one of those - and your numbers are sadly growing - then perhaps this is the book for you.Hitchens has had, for his whole life, a close and personal relationship with spirituality. Though he has always been a sceptic he has experienced much that the religious world has to offer, and has always been willing to meet with the religious, and to hear their stories.However, like the great Bertrand Russell, he is an avowed atheist, and a profound orator of non-belief. In 'God is not Great' he systematically works through all of the major religions, pointing out their consistencies and contrivances, their derivations and hypocracies, and argues convincingly that the world would be a better place without them.As Hitchens says, religion helped man get through the dark ages, but now, in an enlightened society, its time has surely passed.

[acrn_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hitchens style isn't just as refined as other authors which take on this very same subject. It seems way too clutched, quasi-artificial. But being a small book, it's not that big of a deal.But about the book itself, it presents us with some very interesting insights on various topics, and it's very enjoyable .

[horacewimsey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My Baptist mother didn't appreciate seeing this on my bookshelf when she came for a visit. Now she's worried for my soul and the souls of my young children. Hitchens can be a little over the top in his rhetoric. Perhaps a slightly more genteel approach would be a better way to spread the good news.

[lpg3d · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meh. Not bad, but not one of Hitchens' best works.

[diwanna_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Christopher Hitchens hits the nail on the head with this book. Heavy discussions on how religion is a major cause of war, hatred, and stifles us as a now global community. In this book was the first instance I'd ever heard someone say something bad about Mother Theresa. I was shocked, but as I did some research afterwards, he is right on the money. A challenging read, but powerful.

[foof2you · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hitchens has written a thought provking book. I don't agree with him, but I do see how and why he has his belief.

[hjjugovic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hitchens makes the fascinating case against religion, demonstrating its cruelties, amoralities, immoralities, irrationalities, and barbarism. Densely written, I often had to re-read paragraphs just to relish the layers of irony and grasp the depth of what he was saying. Worth every difficult word and highly recommended.

[spk27 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

god is not Great, and neither is this book.I have read, and enjoyed, Hitchens for some time, and agree with most of his comments concerning religion. To a large degree, in my case he was "preaching to the converted".However, this is a remarkably mean-spirited and nasty little book, and Hitchens' attitude toward the billions of people who believe in God and follow some form or another of religion is unremittingly condescending and patronizing.Just to take one example (of many)- "Thus, dear reader, if you have come this far and found your own faith undermined- as I hope- I am willing to state that to some extent I know what you are going through... But...you will feel better, too, I guarantee, once you leave hold of the doctrinaire and allow your chainless mind to do its own thinking"Surprisingly enough, and contrary to what Hitchens apparently believes, not everyone who believes in a higher power is a dolt, and I suspect that a great many feel quite capable of doing their own thinking without having him rescue them from the chains of their belief.The book is absolutely relentless in its attack on religion and its followers and while he does (very)occasionally acknowledge that some persons who believe in God have accomplished significant feats, he does so reluctantly.For example, Hitchens notes the achievements of Martin Luther King, and states that "It is quite impossible even for an atheist like myself to read his speeches or watch recordings of his sermons without profound emotion of the sort that can sometimes bring genuine tears"That's very nice but, in spite of his professed admiration for Dr. King, Hitchens makes it a point to note that, after giving a speech on the night before he was assassinated, he "spent the remainder of his last evening in orgiastic dissipation", for which the author pompously proclaims "I don't blame him".There is not a single positive remark about religion in the entire book but, while I truly do agree with many of Hitchens' comments and to a large degree share his feelings toward organized religion, I also believe that at a local or grassroots level there are many benefits to be found.I have friends and family who are very actively involved in their local church communities, and who find great comfort and support in doing so. They give their time willingly and generously to others, and work hard to help people who have fallen on hard times or who are less fortunate than they. They do do in the name of God and because they believe that it is the right thing to do. Quite frankly, I don't see many similar communities of atheists.I was raised as a Protestant but spent two years in a Catholic school. Hitchens would have us believe that every priest or minister is a latent or potential child molester (there is not a single good thing said about any of them, and one chapter is titled "Is Religion Child Abuse?") but in my experience most were very decent people, and one or two had a profoundly positive impact on my life (thank you, Father Braithwaite). While Hitchens has no difficulty focusing on horrors such as Jonestown (I lost track of how many times he referred to kool-aid), he gives no credit to any of these people or the positive things that they do in the name of God. Instead he claims that any comfort that they provide, or good that they achieve, is based on lies and therefore apparently meaningless.In summary, I found that in pushing his agenda Hitchens was every bit as blinkered and close-minded as the institutions and people that he so viciously attacks, and that the sense of moral and intellectual superiority that he clearly feels he has over anyone who believes in God is entirely unwarranted.Hitchens gives no credit to any of these

[monda_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The title actually reflects the book's tone: In the first half of the book, Hitchens guides us through myth and fact with adelightfully dry, terribly British wit. About two thirds through, the tone crumbles into a cynical rant, although well constructed and researched. It was, nevertheless, a rant in the end. Hitchens loses his authority when he changes tone. I could almost hear his knotted fist rising in the air in the last third of God is Not Great. By the end, I found myself missing the rhythm he bagan with. A hollow finish.

[maravedi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I find it strange that so many people seem to think of this book as "mean spirited" or "nasty." Hitchens maintains his constant litany against all religions, yes, but he does so in a way that is much less insulting and elitist than Dawkins, more critical than Dennett, and more eloquent than Harris. Perhaps it is not Hitchens' tone that these reviewers find so offensive, but his message?GOD IS NOT GREAT is a fantastic critique of, yes, all religions, religious experiences and beliefs. No special permits are handed out, not even to Buddhism or other "philosophical" religions as so many other authors often do. Hitchens' motivation is to explain the human impulse for religion as a result of fear, ignorance and evolution, a task which I feel he succeeds admirably at. Exposing the roots of various belief systems, pointing out inconsistencies and plagiarisms, then backing up his assertions with references and further readings... this book is a treasure trove of material for the actively fighting secularist. Faith is intractable, entrenched, often deaf and dumb to humanist arguments or the voice of reason. Thank Hitchens then, for providing enough ammunition to get the attention of even the most blindly dogmatic in your conversations. Whether or not that ammo gets you saved, slapped or shot, however, is really up to you.

[niecierpek · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Superb. My credo if I were to write it down, and could actually do it with such knowledge, skill and logic.

[kaelirenee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though this anti-religious polemic makes some interesting points about the issues surrounding blind faith, fanaticism, and many aspects of religiosity, I doubt he'll get a whole lot of converts from it. There were a number of times in this book I wanted to go and take philosophy classes because I just knew he was making erroneous claims and assumptions; I just didn't know what they were called. On the plus side, while this book did absolutely nothing to shake my faith, it did an excellent job of making sure I'm not taking it for granted. I do agree with his assessment that religion is not off limits for serious consideration and philosophical or scholarly investigations. I do have a slight quibble with his assertion that it should be scientific, because faith and God and religion are often as difficult to study scientifically as imagination or love or hate. Just because they can't be quantified and dissected doesn't mean they cannot exist.My other complaint is that he too often jumps to conclusions because they are "obvious" or something that any "school child should be able to see by now." Not only is this a weak argument that is also incredibly insulting and patronizing, it is the same argument that religious thinkers have been using (I think Thomas of Aquinas used it quite frequently, in fact-and I know Absalom did).All that being said, it makes a good addition to any readings of an examined faith, which is something to not be taken advantage of. He also brings up some very interesting issues about many religions, including strange admonitions regarding sex, the birth canal, and diet. He did a good job of putting words to why I converted from Catholocism, in fact.While I think these are excellent at explaining what errors religion has made, it does not make a good argument to dispose of religion and faith all together for materialistic atheism.

[midlevelbureaucrat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderfully thought provoking book. The premise being that while one can understand the roots of faith in a god, science and human reason have taken us beyond the need to believe in a god that controls our fates; we know better now than to believe in impossible miracles or to lay our trust in something that cannot exist. Beyond that, organized religion - and Hitchens hammers all organized religions, Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, and pantheism - stands in the way of science, politics, medicine, and human advancement. Hitchens puts to paper what many of us know and understand already, but most are afraid of saying out loud. Though the writing dragged and confused at points, it's still the best written argument against blind faith that I've come across.

[marcelcarroll_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is along the lines of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Hitchens is a deeper thinker than Dawkins, however, and the book is somewhat harder to understand. Rather than attempt to impeach religion, as Dawkins did, Hitchens uses historical examples to support his contentions that religion has been bad for the world generally.

[hvymetalmg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Obviously this will be a controversial review. I am an Atheist and many people do not like hearing that people like me do not believe in an almighty higher power. Regardless, I read this book hoping for some stronger arguments and to learn new facts to support my belief. While most of the arguments I knew, I learned many new facts about religions and culture that did shock me. This is a book not so much about disproving the idea of god himself, but of the religions that created him. And it would be hard not to recognize some of these arguments. However, Hitchens pens his story with am almost arrogant hateful view, like he is saying you must be an idiot to believe in god. I do not, but I understand faith and the necessity to believe, and when you bring up an Atheist point of view in an obnoxious, arrogant tone, it is hard to win people over to your side of the argument. I would have liked the voice to be a little less hostile.