Is Religion Dangerous?

Description

Many commentators today claim that religion is dangerous and harmful. In addressing this question, Keith Ward begins by defining what religion actually is and how most human harm has been caused. He then looks at why people say that religion is dangerous, focusing particularly on religious wars and conflicts and on specific attacks on religion, such as the claims that God is wrathful, that religion is intolerant, that religious morality is primitive and cruel. Keith Ward argues that religion produces great good - for example, in terms of hospitals, the abolition of slavery, great art and music, moral heroism, and philosophy and science. Religion, he concludes, is the best rational basis for morality.

Keith Ward is a fellow of the British Academy and Professional Research Fellow at Heythrop College, London. He was formerly Professor of Religion at King's College, London, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, and a member of the Council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. He is also a well-known broadcaster and author of over twenty books, including More than Matter? and Is Religion Irrational?

This book, unlike many religious books, is very clearly written. I wish I could explain myself as clearly as he does. I think a good way to approach the book could be to regard it as a series of essays on topics such as Life after Death, Morality and the Bible, and Faith and Reason, which can be read independently of each other. -- Christopher Vane * The Lance *