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The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason

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Author Sam Harris has a problem with the world's major organized religions. His thesis, in particular, is that while the foibles of religious fundamentalism (of various brands, though always essentially bespeaking the same mentality) may appear to be more or less harmless, they are in fact a gravely dangerous phenomenon that threatens humankind itself with extinction.

The problem is that with the more rabid varieties of religious fundamentalism we are no longer looking just at the ravings of those halfwit television evangelists who run the credit card icons across the bottom of the screen for the ensnaring of the gullible. Now, on the contrary, we have entered an age- nothing similar to which has been seen since the Spanish Inquisition- in which whole hordes of religious zealots view themselves as being commanded by the "will of God" (whatever in the world that means) to torture, multilate, and brutally kill the rest of us. It is this unreasoning willingness to commit acts of atrocity for "God" (under whatever name), based upon belief systems that are not only of undemonstrated validity but of absolutely undemonstrable validity, that bothers Sam Harris, and he does a truly eloquent job of explaining why, in terms of radical Islam, Christianity, and other belief systems.

While Mr. Harris takes on Islam with considerable fervor, he certainly does not neglect the sordid side of religion in the West. He argues, with regard to both the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, that it is only by selectively ignoring parts of the so-called sacred texts that many people, eschewing the more radical views of these belief systems, can function even as religious "moderates." He points out, for example, that in the Bible's book of Deuteronomy, one is compelled to murder anyone who "serves other gods"-specifically, "You must stone him to death" (Deut. 13:7-11). (In what circumstances, one may ask, is one "serving other gods"? There was a time when Protestants and Catholics turned this principle upon each other, as in fact they still sometimes do in Northern Ireland.) Likewise Harris points out places in scripture where the death penalty, in no uncertain terms, is prescribed for such offenses as "taking the Lord's name in vain" (Leviticus 24:16), working on the Sabbath (Exodus 31:15), cursing one's father or mother (Exodus 21:17), and adultery (Leviticus 20:10). It is not that most people subscribing to this belief system would actually kill anyone for, say, working the Sunday shift at Burger King- but in order to refrain from doing so, such "believers" must selectively tune out the textual command to do so.

In the West, we have largely (thank God, one is tempted to say) separated religion out of public life. The Founding Fathers were careful, in the Constitution, to disallow establishment of a national religion, even though certain modern Presidents have trampled upon this founding wisdom to the extent of using such lunatics as Pat Robertson as advisors on matters of international relations and nuclear proliferation. (How's that for scary?) But in Islamic countries, no such separation of church and state has ever taken place. One can make a fairly long list of countries in which the clergy and the police are the same people. And here again, the willingness to kill whole populations of people failing to share one's own religious beliefs is founded upon systems of "thought"(the desire to fulfil the will of Allah) for which there is no proof of validity. Sam Harris devotes several pages to quotations from the Koran that demand that the believer murder the unbeliever. And of course the terrible thing nowadays is that this phenomenon is the mindset of whole cultures, bent upon subjugating or destroying the rest of the world "on account," as Harris puts it, "of religious ideas that belong on the same shelf with Batman, the philosopher's stone, and unicorns." Harris minces no words: "We are at war with Islam. It may not serve our immediate foreign policy objectives for our political leaders to openly acknowledge this fact, but it is unambiguously so." He points out that the purveyors of this world-view are so narrow as to have no reasoning ability left to them. Like the Nazis (Hitler, after all, having been a devout Christian who saw himself as obeying "God's will," as Mein Kampt makes abundantly clear), the radical Islamists have no basis for rational comparison or judgment. Harris points out: "Spain translates as many books into Spanish every year as the entire Arab world has translated into Arabic since the ninth century." Needless to say, this situation is appalling- and dangerous, in a world in which those deranged enough to think that some "god" is whispering murderous instructions to them can command nuclear arsenals capable of ending all life on the planet. We can't afford this any more.

"As long as it is acceptable," Harris says, "for a person to believe that he knows how God wants everyone on earth to live, we will continue to murder one another on account of our myths." In the past sixty seconds, someone has no doubt died this way.

Harris makes it clear that he is by no means opposed to the individual human urge toward spirituality- toward a sense of wanting to relate oneself to the universe- and makes it equally clear that he accepts the reality of the essential difference between right and wrong, in a primal sense not dependent upon undemonstrable religious belief systems. Morality and ethics, he says, can be developed as a science. And must be. "No tribal fictions need be rehearsed for us to realize, one fine day, that we do in fact love our neighbors, that our happiness is inextricable from their own, and that our interdependence demands that people everywhere be given the opportunity to flourish." In short, we must learn to be good to each other because we want to, not because of religious dogma. For this reviewer's money, he is absolutely right. Humankind must outgrow the barbarisms of an ignorant and stultifying past and move on toward a vision of harmony inspired not by meanness of spirit but by clear and courageous thinking. Bravo, Mr. Harris!

This is an important book. It delves into the rightness of religious belief, supernaturalism in particular. It shows an ugly scene - religious extremism is widespread and much of our world's hurt can be traced directly to it. The author shows that religion is not a benign force - so often it is detrimental to world peace and happiness. The author's observations do not just apply to Osama Bin Laden and his ilk, but also to President Bush and like-minded evangelical Christians.

What took me aback is the position that Harris is advocating - that it is okay to subject religion to careful scrutiny, in fact, it is desirable as religion is having such a negative impact on us all. He's talking about a change in social norms, attitudes, what is considered mannerly... he's saying that we can no longer afford to be respectful and tolerant of others' religious beliefs when those beliefs could do us all in. He suggests that we ask: What is the evidence for your God?

I learnt that a person's religious beliefs are his own private business - every person has to work out his own salvation - and it was not for me to question these beliefs. I learned that it is behavior that counts - how we treat others and the world we live in. But in America this has flipped. Now many people talk about their beliefs, the one-on-one they have with Christ, while they indulge in the most hateful and unchristian behavior. Worse, they think their beliefs call for such behavior. Harris suggests that it is time for us to grab this nettle and challenge religion's hold on so many people.

I have been researching a book on Middle East peace. I was startled to learn the role that Bible prophecy is playing in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The US's policy, under President Bush, has more to do with laying the groundwork for Christ's Second Coming than a careful search for justice and peace.

It is amazing to me that in this day and age that Biblical writings are playing such a role in our lives. One of the factors that brought on the Dark Ages was the rise of the Christian church, the aggressive way it persecuted those who disagreed with even its most ridiculous notions. I ask if we are on the verge of a new Dark Age? Prophecy, creationism, the Bible taken literally, fear of hell fire, 2,000 year old notions on how we should live... This book helps us address this urgent question.

This is also a courageous book. It is courageous as an important component of the identity, sense of self, of so many millions of people is tied to such religion. The author will no doubt endure a lot of anger from many of these people. I am thankful that he is taking this stand.

It is both odd and a mistake to refer to this book as "ineffectual". Mr. Harris points out something which, one hopes, we all already know. And that is, despite its ability to blind us emotionally, despite the fact that in most cases people come to embrace religion through some form of indoctrination, or in the case of President Bush, come to it as a substitute for other forms of intoxication, religion as an artifact of human thought has long outlived its usefulness. We are no longer tribes squatting in huts teaching our children that the world is flat and if the weather turns it's because some god is angry about the clothes we wear. Problem being that today, in place of sticks and rocks we have big, powerful and easily portable weapons.

What is effective about this book is that it finally opens the door to this virtually taboo observation: Middle east or West, by being treated as infallible and unquestionable, religion quantifiably does more harm than good. Mr. Harris points out just how utterly antiquated and basically wrong so many religious tracts are by using the tracts themselves. Proof enough that religions no longer hold the key to human happiness is demonstrated by the convenient "editing" of some tenets of faith by none other than the faithful who, in our culture, get closer to god by picking and choosing those aspects of the word of god which best suits the starkly more secular and practical aspects of their lives. Is everybody comfy? Good.

It is even more important and highly effective to point out how faith continues to divert our society from coming to terms with the objective facts which define the issues facing us today in favor of consistently relying on belief. The dangers of this practice in our daily social and political life are being felt in innumerable ways, and the danger continues to grow. By connecting the way in which religious beliefs affect our world, our interaction with others and with a more objective reality, Mr. Harris has helped begin the only conversation that really matters.

"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" I Cor. 14:8.

As if coached by the apostle Paul, Sam Harris sounds his call to battle with a ringing panache. If over the coming century religious fanatics take out a few major cities, or destroy civilization altogether, we can't say he didn't warn us. His bold thesis here is that the threat does not come only from fanatics. Just as terrorists thrive only when they are sustained by a critical mass of sympahtizers who are not themselves actively violent, so fanatics thrive only because they are nourished by the swamp of religious moderates. It is there that every pestilent superstition and every archaic barbarism is coddled in its larval form, and Harris is here to tell us that the time has come to drain the swamp.

The publishing world has given us a plethora of books cheerfully marketed as "guaranteed to offend everyone". In reality, they are being touted to demographics that pride themselves on not being PC, or not being easily offended, and such books are full of cynical wiseacring and formulaic humor. But here's a book that really does have something in it to offend nearly everyone -- (Are you a biblical literalist? You're equated to Al Qaeda. A moderate mainline believer? You're the real problem. A liberal? You have made an idol of toleration that will be the death of us all. A secularist? You ignore peoples' vital spiritual aspirations. A conservative? You make excuses for the barbarisms of war.) -- and it's refreshingly earnest. I found its sincerity endearing.

The central idea is that, although religion has always given rise to horrors, the magnified powers of destruction that modern technology puts into the hands of individuals and small groups means that we can no longer treat "My God is better than your God" as a silly game that we can allow the children to go on playing. The hour has come to eliminate "faith" altogether, for the good of everyone. It is not enough to eliminate extreme versions of religion. Moderate versions must also go, because by their very presence, and adherence to the same fanciful notions, they lend an air of legitimacy to the extremists.

The case is presented with pith and rhetorical flourish. It is to Harris's credit that he is willing to tackle themes we are accustomed to tiptoeing around, and strictly as a manifesto, the book succeeds. Those aspects of religion which encourage barbarism, and there is no denying that they exist, and are in part encoded in the various creeds' core texts, do pose a real and growing danger. Unfortunately, the quality and clarity of Harris's argumentation is not up to the same standard as the quality of his preaching.

There are three main problems. First, Harris paints such a lopsidedly hostile portrait of Islam that it serves to undercut his valid point: that however impolite it may be to say so, there are real differences in the ease with which the various religions can be subverted to violent ends, and that of the major faiths, Islam offers its moderates the flimsiest ammunition in the battle against such subversion.

Second, he is fatally fuzzy about the identity of the enemy. When he is sharpest, what he has in his sights is the foolish and dangerous notion that there is a special virtue in "faith", in the sense of believing certain propositions without evidence, which somehow becomes even more virtuous when you believe it in the teeth of the evidence. "Faith" in that sense must be named as an inexcusable vice. But he equivocates, and dissipates his aim, by making all religious belief, that is, belief in gods and miracles, his target. The most deadly 20th century instances of "faith" - fascism and Leninism - were not religous at all; and numerous religious moderates make no virtue out of ignoring evidence.

This second flaw is critical when you consider what exactly he is asking the moderate believers in his readership to do.
That moderates are mysteriously passive in confronting the evils of extremism within their ranks is an important observation. But if it is the presence of any religious beliefs whatsoever that constitute the enemy, rather than the refusal to adjust those beliefs to align with facts, then all Harris can be asking of the moderates is that they abandon their religion entirely. Perhaps that's what he expects them to do, but it's a utopian expectation. A more careful analysis might provide a feasible program for action, but what we get is a first class marching band without a street to march it down.

And therein lies the third flaw. The only solution Harris has to offer is itself utopian: replace religion as we know it with a rational, empirically based spiritual practice of meditation. Since meditation practices have been around for millenia, without generating sufficient appeal to satisfy the spiritual yearnings of the vast majority of people, he has to pin his hopes here on breakthroughs in neurology that will make mystical experience more reliably and readily accessible to all. Much as those advances may be possible, the daunting complexity of the brain suggests that we will probably have to wait more than a century for any such secular-spiritual dawn. It gives us no blueprint for dealing with the excesses of blind faith in the meantime. Harris himself realizes that this hope is a bit of a Hail Mary pass: he closes his first chapter with the admission, "what follows is written very much in the spirit of prayer."

These disappointments with Harris's answers do not negate the value and importance of the questions he raises. No matter who you are, you will disagree strongly with some of what he has to say. But you will be stimulated to think outside your usual box.

Yesterday I finished Sam Harris' work,"The End of Faith" ... and noted I had underlined nearly a quarter of the text. As an active conservative Christian, it was important for me to read an author with a different view. I commend Sam for his courage to wade into conversations where we all know we shouldn't go. Anyone truly interested in the future good of our global community would benefit from reading the thoughts Sam has recorded here. His ability to help us clear our minds of what holds us back is a rare gift. I truly believe Sam only means to help people of faith and those whose lives their actions impact ... and that Christians would do well to spend as much time evaluating their faith as they do practicing it.

What is a fundamentalist, evangelical, pentecostal preacher doing reading this book? Rethinking his faith, that's what. I have been (secretly) reading books on faith & reason for several years now, this book by Sam Harris has been the best I've read to date. Questions and concerns of mine were better articulated and better answered by Mr. Harris than other books on the subject. A word of warning from a member (soon to be former member) of the religious right: Don't read this book if you're not ready to question your faith and "faith" in general. After reading Sam's book, I now realize that suspending reason in favor of religion is not a benign practice, it propagates a belief system that hurts everyone. We would all be better off if religion could be suspended, not reason!

This is a brilliant book and the author had to have a lot of courage to write it. This is the author's first book. Sam Harris, the author, is now working on his doctorate in neuroscience. He has studied Eastern and Western religious traditions, along with a variety of spiritual disciplines for twenty years. Harris calls for the end of religious faith in the modern world and identifies religious beliefs as the core of many of the human atrocities throughout history. He argues that our willingness to ignore reason and scientific facts as we maintain our beliefs, not based on sound science and reason, will lead the world into more peril because these beliefs not only legitimize intolerance, but they have also invaded most aspects of political and secular life and threaten to become apocalyptic in a world with weapons of mass destruction.

The author believes that all religions are harmful, not just extremist & terrorist religions, which are obviously harmful. He sees those who practice moderate religion as a bigger part of the problem than some people think because they provide a foundation of unreason that radicals, fundamentalists and religious terrorists build upon.

What is a belief? A belief is a powerful force that once it is internalized moves almost everything else in a person's life. Beliefs define one's vision of the world, one's behavior and one's emotional responses. Beliefs are principles of action. It is through beliefs that we predict events and consider the likely consequences of our actions and therefore guide our behavior. The power beliefs have over our emotional lives is total because for every emotion we are capable of feeling, there is a belief that evokes it.

What is faith? The Bible defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It seems to say that faith is entirely self-justifying. Religious faith is unjustified belief in the most important matters that we have been convinced we don't need to justify.

The terrorists who committed the atrocities on September 11 have been described as men of profound (extremist) religious faith. There were serious reports that they expected to receive the very best rewards in heaven for their efforts. This is just one example of the dangers that we all face when persons do not base their actions on reason. Another example is the Inquisition which began in the year 1184 and continued in parts of the world until 1834. In the name of God, countless innocents were tortured and murdered for heresy. All the perpetrators of these atrocities were men of God including popes, bishops, friars and priests.

Seeking more knowledge in our world is in a way the opposite of faith. Faith relies on unquestioned, closed mindedness. Wanting to know more about our world leaves us vulnerable to new evidence. The thing that will permit human beings to work together with open minds in making a better world is our willingness to have our beliefs modified by reasoned facts.

What does religion offer? There is a clear difference between religious moderates and religious extremists. However, both pose a danger to reason. This is because moderates underestimate the effect that faith has had on man's inhumanity to man, and they wrongly advocate the belief that faith is an essential component of human life. There is a myth that moderation is far superior to more extremist religious faith. It is not moderate to believe in the Bible and the God of organized religion because these beliefs are not in line with reason and there is no evidence to support these beliefs.

It is interesting to note that moderates have had to make the decision to ignore or loosely interpret the bible in order to live coherently in the modern world. Living in a world where a single world leader can annihilate millions based on faith, it must be argued that we no longer have a right to our myths.

Spirituality, of course, is not a myth. There are degrees of human experiences of meaningfulness, selflessness, awareness and heightened emotions that go beyond our current understanding of the mind. Spirituality is the range of experiences that exceed our ordinary-everyday limits of subjectivity and include exploring new and changed emotions as well as cognitive and conceptual new awarenesses. Spirituality respects the fact healthy skepticism is important, and that skepticism does not in any way diminish spirituality.

I can honestly say that reading "Letter to a Christian Nation" was my prime motivation to purchase and read this book.

When "End of Faith" first came out, I ignored it as just another "atheist" argument for the suspension of rational thought and continued inquiry. Yes, you read that correctly. However, I was wrong about this book.

As a devout Christian who belongs to one of the most reviled "cults" in the history of mankind (I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, yes, a "Mormon", and yes, I know most of you are ROFLYAO), I typically find very little value in most of "intellectual" diatribes against religion, just as I find very little value in most of the "religious" diatribes against evolution, etc. I've found that a vast majority of people have simply closed their minds and write only to support their conclusions (i.e. Dawkins, et al). You should note I've read, but not publicily reviewed, books by Mr. Dawkins. I mention this only to help you understand my review.

This book is unquestionably a diatribe against religion. However, it is the first of such "modern" books (at least, that I've read) that uses reason and logic to create an honest argument and to apply the same to *all* religions, of which I consider "Atheism" to be one. A "religion" is not the same thing as a "school of thought". This book is much more eloquent in making that point.

I found myself in wholehearted agreement with the author in over 90% of his reasoning and opinions. That is more than I find in most conversations with people who are of my own faith!

If you believe yourself to be a rational person, you must read this book. His criticisms and analyses are becoming more and more relevant as time passes. There is no question that he is absolutely correct about where our country, our leaders and the entire world is heading. His honesty and bravery, yes, bravery, in writing this book lead me to say, "Three cheers for Sam Harris!"

I do, of course, not agree with everything. :) But, I'm not a famous author, I'm not a well known celebrity/scientist/journalist/anything and I'm not one of the "top" Amazon reviewers. So, who cares? That's the problem. "Who cares?".

Sam Harris, who was a graduate student in neuroscience when he wrote this book, goes after organized religion with hammer and tong. Early on he states his premise: we can no longer tolerate religions that advocate martyrdom and the murder of innocents in honor of their god, nor can we tolerate a literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation. The world is too dangerous: these same people now have access to nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.

Harris blames religion for the murder of millions upon millions of people. Early on, he points to The Inquisition, which was officially sanctioned by the Church in 1215 during the Lateran Council. It had been extant since the Fourth Century. Harris shows how the church worked hand-in-hand with secular powers to deprive "heretics" of their land and wealth. Harris blames faith itself. He says, "Whenever a man imagines that he need only believe the truth of a proposition, without evidence . . . he becomes capable of anything." None of the great doctors of the church go unscathed. St. Augustine supposedly sanctioned torture to punish those who broke the laws of God. Matthew the Evangelist puts words in the mouths of the Jews who called for Jesus's execution rather than Barabbas's. Those words, "His blood be on us and on our children," would be the impetus for the Holocaust.

Harris does admit that man has a spiritual side, but he turns to meditation and what sounds like Buddhism as an alternative to religious faith. Harris's meditation leads him to a state of selflessness. Besides religion, Harris blames envy, jealousy and hatred---all resulting from selfishness---for the evils in the word. Like Buddhism he stresses compassion and love.

Harris ends with some modern offenses done in the name of religion: Pope John Paul I's opposition of condom use in AIDS-ravaged Africa; Muslim rioting over a report that U.S. Interrogators defiled the Koran, and the fact that twenty states would like to have their schools teach Creationism alongside evolution. Ronald Reagan was so convinced that the apocalypse was at hand that he included Jerry Falwell in his national security briefings. Harris provides some statistics: Only 28% of Americans believe in evolution; 72% believe in angels.

The fact that Sam Harris would not allow his book to translated into Arabic says it all. He was worried that the translators would be held accountable for what he said.

Sam Harris' book ties it all together. "The End of Faith" is reasonable, cogent and before its time. This is a look at a thinking future in spiritual life; one that is possible after we get our religious lives in order. On the twenty-fifth of January, 2005, Frontline, in the documentary "The Spread of Al-Quaeda" put on film and on television just what Sam Harris is talking about; Muslim Jihadists - most from the middle class - hijacked mentally by the fundamentalist Mosques, taking up the sword in response to the Koran. This same behavior happens among Christians and Jews with regard to their bible. The fault is in the dream world of scripture; it should be outlawed until it can be seen for what it is - not written by God, but flawed visions; some great poetry, some excellent ideas, but so mixed with Iron Age violence as to be a very dangerous tool indeed.

Harris' hopefulness is unique. He points out that the "eastern religions" such as Buddhism have done excellent groundwork research on spiritual growth; meditative techniques that can be observed scientifically. Harris shows that strong communities, ethical concerns and issues of spirituality are natural to human beings and do not need the ignorant detritus of the past to flower among mindfull people.

This book is before its time, not just because we are an age bound to scripture but because the union of eastern and western meditative spirituality has barely begun. The West's "activity" is not all bad and Harris touches on the theme when he decries "passivity" as a mode of life.

An excellent book.