Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapists View and the Case Against Religiosity [Paperback]

Albert Ellis (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 57 pages
• Publisher: Amer Atheist Pr (April 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910309183
• ISBN-13: 978-0910309189
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are religionists insane, psychotic, or just 'nuts'? YES!, June 1, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapists View and the Case Against Religiosity (Paperback)

Renowned psychiatrist Albert Ellis argues that there is little real difference between the mental states of people in insane asylums and deeply religious people.

Mentally ill people often use religious imagery; Religious leaders are often mentally ill; psychosis is a break from reality; religion is a break from reality; psychotics and religionists generally believe in all-powerful, non-material spirtits or entities which they can interact with through ritualized behaviors, chants, drugs, prayers, etc.

The claims of religionists, goddists, and spiritualists have no more basis in fact than the claims of the mentally ill, states Dr. Ellis.

Parental promotion of religion is guaranteed to have deleterious effects on children, argues Dr. Ellis. In fact, many of his patients were driven to their insanity by deeply religious upbringings.

The root ideas of religion grow out of fear and ignorance, and to be 'succesful', religionists need to destroy the self-sufficiency of a nation; reducing people to childish dependency and superstitious fear through belief in magical ideas. It is an ominous prospect, given the recent upsurge in religiosity among Americans.

While this book is the text of speeched delivered to atheist conventions, thre are other, more scholarly and detailed books by Dr. Ellis which explain his ideas, and provide readers with the supporting evidence for his claims.

People interested in details, or just gaining some insight and understanding the basis for Dr. Ellis' claims, might want to check out his book ''Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy'', or Dr. Gregory Bateson's book, "Steps to an Ecology of mind".

-Brian Lynch

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative, August 3, 2008

By 

Kaleena Laubach (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapists View and the Case Against Religiosity (Paperback)

This book helped me to step out of my box and away from the dogmatic views that I grew up with and see religion from a different perspective. I will say that I realized that my belief system is a very individual personal relationship with Jesus and not a traditional Christian or Religious following.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The king of common sense psychology takes on the kingdom of heaven, June 7, 2007

By 

Rick Roma "Rick Roma" (Dublin Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapists View and the Case Against Religiosity (Paperback)

As someone who has read a lot of psychology and a fair deal of RET/CBT literature in particular I knew what to expect from this little book. The arguments Ellis makes are not to everyone's liking and this is not really the place to go into that, but Albert Ellis uses this very short book to explain why he sees religion as a damaging influence in many peoples lives. He boils this down to two main arguments; that religion causes us to feel anxious and fearful (about death, sin take your pick), and that religion quite often results in negating of the self. Anyone who has read guide to rational living will be familiar with a lot of what is in this book as Ellis reprises many of his "irrational beliefs" and discusses how religiosity leads to these becoming manifest in our belief systems. This book did put me in mind of Richard Dawkins thesis that religion is a virus of thought, most recently expressed in his book the God Delusion. Besides the main arguments which I have tried to cover briefly, the writing style is typically simple, perhaps even simplistic in parts. But what else would you expect from one of the high priests of mental reductionism? If you have your mind made up that your faith is unshakeable this book is not for you. If you have read Guide to Rational Living and enjoyed it, I reckon it will be likewise for this title.