Is Religion Dangerous? [Paperback]

Keith Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2007

Holy wars, crusades, discrimination, hate - these by-products of religion are all many contemporary commentators can see. But is religion dangerous? Is it a force for evil, something to oppose as a corrupt system that leads to terrorism and violence? Is it something to disdain as irrational and out of step with modern society? Keith Ward here addresses these concerns intelligently and insightfully. Looking at the evidence from history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology, he focuses on the main question at issue: does religion do more harm than good? He begins with a clear definition of what religion actually is, examining the key area of religion and violence. Ward goes on to assess the allegations of irrationality and immorality before finally exploring the good religion has engendered over the centuries. Without religion, the human race would be considerably worse off with little hope for the future. In fact, he argues, religion is the best rational basis for morality. Thought-provoking and powerful, Is Religion Dangerous? is essential reading for anyone interested in the confluence of truth, freedom, and justice.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Although he lacks the glibness, arrogance, and fame of best-selling antireligionists Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, Ward neatly cuts the ground from under such global-village atheists. He points out their definitional haziness about the key terms religion and danger the paltriness of the evidence for their claims, and their reliance on outdated, unverifiable anthropological and psychological speculations. And that's only in the introduction. Religion and violence, religion and irrationality, religion and morality, and whether religion does more harm than good are the topics of the short book's four parts proper, and in each Ward demonstrates that clear, consistent, and logical relationships between ill effects and religious motivations cannot be established. If religion is violent, how to explain Quakers and Buddhists? If irrational, then those philosophical reconcilers of reason and faith Kant, Descartes, and Aquinas must be refuted. Religious belief seems immoral only when scripture is cherry-picked, and whether religion harms more than helps the person and society has yet to be demonstrated. Ward argues with the findings of social science research and philosophy rather than scripture, and he concludes with boilerplate ecumenism only after having reassured readers that God-bashing celebs don't, perhaps can't, know what they're yakking about. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Keith Ward is Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London, and the author of over twenty books, including God: A Guide for the Perplexed and Pascal's Fire: Scientific Faith and Religious Understanding.

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (March 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802845088
• ISBN-13: 978-0802845085
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #849,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and thought-provoking book, October 15, 2006

By 

Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is Religion Dangerous? (Hardcover)

This excellently-written and very readable book has 200 pages dealing with this most modern of issues - is religion dangerous? Keith Ward explores how we define religion and the ways in which religions and groups can be seen to be `dangerous' where their intent might be quite the opposite.

I liked the way that he drew examples from all aspects of life and history - Christianity, Islam, Nazi Germany, the Crusades, Iraq, Quakers, Buddhism and more. This wide-ranging look at the world and the religions that are part of it, their history and form today and ways in which their followers can be dangerous was excellently portrayed.

His conclusion - that it's the human within the religion that is dangerous, not the religion itself - is perhaps not a surprise but his masterly arguments are well worth reading. A useful book to encourage thought and dialogue within Christianity and other religions.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Concise and Intelligent Rebuttal of Atheist Arguments, June 12, 2007

By 

George P. Wood (Springfield, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is Religion Dangerous? (Paperback)

Is religion dangerous?

In recent books, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens argue that it is. Keith Ward disagrees. His new book rebuts four standard atheist arguments:

First, religion causes violence, e.g., the Crusades and Islamic terrorism. But as Ward points out, "hatred of life, of others and of oneself" is the cause of violence. Anything human can be corrupted by such hatred, including religion and even atheism. How many millions did Communist regimes kill in the 20th Century, after all?

Second, faith is irrational. Specifically, it's unscientific. Ward responds, "Many of the most important beliefs we have in life are not scientifically testable, but we still live our lives by them." Intelligent people believe in God, offer reasons for their beliefs, and practice their faith humanely. They are not irrational.

Third, religion promotes immorality. There are many violent stories in the Old Testament that are hard for Christians to explain. But atheists fail to see that such hard cases make bad law. Jesus taught that love of God, neighbor, and self is our basic moral duty (Matthew 22:37-40). What is immoral about that?

Fourth, religion is unhealthy. Freud famously called religious belief a neurosis. But citing numerous studies, Ward reaches the opposite conclusion: "the influence of religion on personal life...is overall and in general good."

I disagree with Ward here and there. He occasionally defends Islam where I wouldn't. And he makes a few political remarks which I disagree with. But overall, I'm impressed by his concise and intelligent rebuttal of atheist arguments.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fairly orthodox defense, May 12, 2007

By 

Scott E. Graybill "cheery Calvinist" (Harrisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Is Religion Dangerous? (Paperback)

Prof Ward provides a reasonable and readable rebuttal to the claims that religion itself is dangerous and that teaching about hell, etc. is bad. His perspective is fairly orthodox, though from a Reformed perspective, a bit wanting. Since his defense is slightly more generic, it might have a greater mass appeal. However, one sometimes wishes for a defense of religion from the revelation of Christianity itself (maybe even a la Barth). Suitable for nearly anyone who has a high school diploma.