An impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely work delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world.
Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes. He asserts that in the shadow of weapons of mass destruction, the world can no longer tolerate views that pit one true god against another. Most controversially, he argues that we cannot afford moderate lip service to religion—an accommodation that only blinds us to the real perils of fundamentalism. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris also draws on new evidence from neuroscience and insights from philosophy to explore spirituality as a biological, brain-based need. He calls on us to invoke that need in taking a secular humanistic approach to solving the problems of this world.
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"A reaffirmation that communally practiced religion, without exception, does more to harm than help. While one's belief is a personal choice an allowance for communal religious belief should not be made in any culture. With all due respect to any believer no one is born in the image and likeness of anyone or anything but our animal forbears. Religion caters to those who will not accept their mortality. The invention of a so called life after death denies acceptance of the life process and allows barbarous activity to be accepted and forgiven. If believers want to find evil, they only need to consider the destruction of life and property irretrievably lost to armaments in the name of the god of their choice. No one is born evil but religious belief urges us to accept this as fact. This book points out in no uncertain terms where that segment of humanity adhering to religious belief is leading the rest of us. An honest book."
— Ian (5 out of 5 stars)
“The End of Faith is a genuinely frightening book…Read Sam Harris and wake up.”
— Richard Dawkins, Guardian (London)“This is an important book…Harris writes what a sizable number of us think, but few are willing to say.”
— New York Times Book Review“This book will strike a chord with anyone who has ever pondered the irrationality of religious faith…Even Mr. Harris’ critics will have to concede the force of an analysis which roams so far and wise, from the persecution of the Cathars to the composition of George Bush’s cabinet.”
— Economist“Sam Harris launches a sustained nuclear assault…The End of Faith is a brave, pugilistic attempt to demolish the walls that currently insulate religious people from criticism…The End of Faith is badly needed.”
— Independent (London)" the thing to remember from the book: 'theology is science of human ignorance' "
— monsegu, 8/4/2021" This book was quite good, but I didn't find it as entertaining or informative as Richard Dawkins's "The God Delusion." They're both very much worth reading, and very different. Sam Harris's book is more grim, and has a much darker sense of humor. "
— Architeuthis, 2/15/2014" a must read for everyone! "
— Corine, 2/12/2014" The most needed book of this century!! My all time favorite book. "
— Geetanjali, 2/8/2014" Life-changing. Seriously! I look at so many things in an entirely different way after reading this. In fact, I have read it 3 times and often lend out my copy. "
— Saundra, 1/24/2014" Although I agree with Sam Harris, compared to Dawkins or Hitchens, he comes across to me as very angry. "
— Judi, 1/23/2014" This book I think must have been published in the wake of the fears of individuals after 9-11. It is entirely too heavily focused on Islamic faith. Perhaps it is because the author felt like he would have supporters of his views after this tragedy, that they would realize the risks that religion poses to the human race? I think religion has played a huge part in many massacres in many areas, in the furthering of elitism, racism, and segregation of humans against one another. In this manner I find his thesis correct and coherent. I felt however, that his ideas would have gained more credence if he would have enumerated more issues with all faiths and all sets of belief, and perhaps left out the last few chapters which I thought did not flow well with the "point" of his book. Furthermore, the book lacked a certain cohesion and perhaps the authors writing was a bit unenjoyable in my opinion. Some of the points he makes are worth keeping in mind. I have often worried about the "Armageddon" mind set that many believers have, and have worried that perhaps if situations in the world got terribly out of control many believers would say it was fate, that Armageddon was bound to happen and then back of from the responsibility of fixing things and saving the world (i.e. this is gods way, so be it) then of course it would be a huge tragedy of a self fulfilling prophecy. Why not look into issues like this? They would have supported his thesis and given rise to other discussions in the book. Instead the author seems to just hammer in and handful of points to no end. "
— Cassandra, 1/22/2014" This book is an excellent inducement to unabashed adherence to reason and skepticism. It has convinced me to overcome my polite nature when discussing matters of faith with believers. In a time when elected officials (and thus public policy) are chosen by people who base their decisions on a literal interpretation of ancient eschatology it is too dangerous to accept these viewpoints as acceptable. Read and become empowered! "
— Shaun, 1/18/2014" Letter to a Christian Nation was so much better. More concise and to the point. I found this one way too loquacious. I found myself zoning out quite a bit while reading it. "
— Elaine, 1/17/2014" I'm still reading it so not sure yet... "
— Margarita, 12/30/2013" There is a lot of truth in this book. Much of it hard to accept for many people. But he makes some very good points about fanatacism and extremist viewpoints in religion and how those viewpoints affecct the whole of society. Worth the read, even if you don't agree with everything in it. "
— Mariah, 12/27/2013" Interesting arguments. Some of merit, some of rambling prose. "
— Steven, 11/21/2013" I had been wanting to read this book for a number of years and finally got the chance. I could not get into this book for the life of me....I gave it a chance and after 100 pages, I put it down and gave up. Oh well :( "
— Caitlin, 3/11/2013" A great book, but difficult to read. Harris has an extremely progressive view on how poorly the US separates church and state. "
— Alik, 10/23/2012" Well written and almost perversely analytical. Good book, to be sure, but at times its tough going. Some topics are over-explained and Harris lacks the literary flair of Dawkins or Hitchens. "
— Kenneth, 10/14/2012" Supposing that religious (reasoning) ignorance continues it will naturally dies and scientific (reasoning) will prevail. The book is aggressively written, especially toward fundamentalists (especially islam) "
— Adih, 5/27/2012" #9 THE END OF FAITH: Religion, Terror, And The Future Of Reason by Sam Harris: Durfee's top 50 non-fiction books countdown. Unlike me, Sam Harris is not an bitter angry atheist loon. He's just a guy who just makes common sense arguments for using reason and logic in matters of faith "
— Brian, 2/2/2012" I agree with Harris a lot, though he is a bit more aggressive than me. Good book though. "
— Syon, 10/13/2011" This little book should be required reading for every one of us who wears the name "Christian." Sam Harris calls us out. "
— Diana, 5/15/2011" Sam Harris gives us a powerful tool to beat those Christians and their apologists. His reasoning and logic cannot be faulted. <br/><br/>I challenge any Christian to point out where Harris is wrong. "
— Alwyn, 5/8/2011" Although I don't agree with all of the conclusions that the author came up with, I do appreciate some of the questions being asked. "
— Matt, 5/5/2011" Regardless of your beliefs this an informative and easy read compared to his other books. "
— Nancy, 4/23/2011" Clear thoughts and arguments. Harris' to the point-style makes it an enjoyable and thoughtwordy read. "
— Anders, 4/22/2011" The subject is religion so the less said the better (not to step on any toes). Sam Harris' perspective on Islam paints a very disturbing picture of a 'situation' that should be monitored. Note to self: perhaps now is the time to read Sam Harris' End of Faith. "
— Calnan, 4/16/2011" a systematic defense of reason and integrity in the time of perilous religious bigotry.a shortened,updated version of "Why I am not a christian". a must read for every-christian, or christian-friend. "
— Daniel, 4/10/2011Sam Harris is the author of the bestsellers The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, and Lying. The End of Faith won a 2005 PEN Award for nonfiction, and his writing has been published in over fifteen languages. Harris’ work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Atlantic, and Newsweek, among others. He is cofounder and CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA.
Brian Emerson is an actor and technical director with a long career in the Washington, DC, and Baltimore areas.