DESCRIPTION

Holy wars, crusades, discrimination, intolerance — these by-products of religion are all that many contemporary commentators can see. But is religion dangerous? Is it a force for evil or even “the root of all evil,” as Richard Dawkins has claimed? Does religion lead to terrorism and violence? Are religious beliefs irrational and immoral?

One of Britain’s foremost philosopher-theologians, Keith Ward here addresses these concerns with intelligence and insight. Without religion, he argues, the human race would be considerably worse off and have little hope for the future. Thought-provoking and compellingly argued, Is Religion Dangerous? is a trenchant response to today’s critics of religion.

Times Literary Supplement
“A beautifully argued book. . . . Keith Ward takes the common sense view that while religion, like everything else (say, politics, sex, science, knowledge, and life itself), can be dangerous, on the whole it contributes to human flourishing.”

The Daily Telegraph
“Ward is successful in demonstrating that critics of religion are often guilty of conflating the worst with the best in order to dismiss the whole. . . . It will be interesting to see whether the moderate and humane tone of this book makes an impact at a time when the voices that are most clearly heard are those that shout the loudest.”