God Is Not Great

1. Religious Texts Are Human-Made and Deeply Flawed

"Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did."

Textual Inconsistency. Religious texts are fundamentally human artifacts riddled with contradictions, historical inaccuracies, and moral inconsistencies. These texts reflect the limited understanding and cultural biases of their time, rather than divine revelation.

Origins of Myths:

• Created by primitive societies to explain natural phenomena
• Reflect local cultural and political contexts
• Frequently borrowed from earlier mythological traditions
• Written long after supposed events by multiple, often conflicting authors

Scholarly Analysis. Extensive archaeological, historical, and textual research has systematically dismantled the claims of religious texts, revealing them as complex, politically motivated narratives rather than universal truths.

2. Religion Systematically Oppresses and Manipulates People

"Religion poisons everything."

Systemic Control. Religions have historically been powerful mechanisms for social control, using fear, guilt, and promises of reward to manipulate human behavior and maintain hierarchical power structures.

Manipulation Tactics:

• Instilling perpetual guilt about human nature
• Creating artificial moral standards
• Threatening eternal punishment
• Demanding unquestioning obedience
• Prohibiting critical examination of doctrines

Psychological Impact. Religious institutions systematically undermine individual autonomy by constructing complex systems of shame, reward, and punishment that limit personal freedom and critical thinking.

3. Religious Institutions Historically Enable Violence and Conflict

"The chance that someone's religious belief would cause him or her to uphold slavery and racism was statistically extremely high."

Historical Violence. Religious institutions have consistently been complicit in some of humanity's worst atrocities, including slavery, colonization, genocide, and systematic oppression.

Patterns of Religious Violence:

• Justifying territorial conquests
• Endorsing racial and ethnic discrimination
• Supporting oppressive political regimes
• Facilitating institutional abuse
• Perpetuating cultural and gender hierarchies

Global Examples. From the Crusades to modern-day sectarian conflicts, religions have repeatedly demonstrated their capacity to generate and sustain violent ideological divisions.

4. Faith Demands Unquestioning Submission and Suppresses Critical Thinking

"The essential principle of totalitarianism is to make laws that are impossible to obey."

Intellectual Repression. Religious systems fundamentally discourage independent thought, creating elaborate mechanisms to punish questioning and enforce doctrinal compliance.

Suppression Strategies:

• Labeling doubt as heresy
• Threatening social exclusion
• Creating complex, intentionally incomprehensible theological arguments
• Punishing intellectual curiosity
• Establishing hierarchical knowledge control

Psychological Mechanism. Religious institutions exploit human psychological vulnerabilities, offering simplistic explanations for complex existential questions while simultaneously creating elaborate systems of control.

5. Religious Dogma Undermines Scientific and Moral Progress

"Between them, the sciences of textual criticism, archaeology, physics, and molecular biology have shown religious myths to be false and man-made."

Scientific Obstruction. Religious institutions have consistently impeded scientific understanding by rejecting empirical evidence that challenges theological narratives.

Historical Resistance:

• Persecuting scientific pioneers
• Rejecting revolutionary scientific discoveries
• Maintaining anti-intellectual positions
• Promoting pseudoscientific explanations
• Blocking medical and technological advancements

Epistemological Limitation. Religious frameworks fundamentally restrict human understanding by privileging faith-based assertions over evidence-based knowledge.

6. Sexual Repression and Childhood Indoctrination Are Core Religious Strategies

"Religion is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking."

Systematic Manipulation. Religious institutions use sexual repression and childhood indoctrination as primary mechanisms for maintaining social control and perpetuating belief systems.

Indoctrination Techniques:

• Early childhood religious education
• Creating elaborate guilt mechanisms
• Controlling sexual information
• Introducing complex moral prohibitions
• Generating fear about natural human experiences

Psychological Consequence. These strategies create deep psychological wounds, generating lifelong patterns of shame, guilt, and self-suppression.

7. Religious Totalitarianism Threatens Human Freedom and Dignity

"Religion speaks its last intelligible or noble or inspiring words a long time ago."

Authoritarian Tendencies. Religious systems inherently contain totalitarian impulses that seek to control every aspect of human experience, from personal behavior to societal structures.

Totalitarian Characteristics:

• Demanding absolute obedience
• Suppressing individual expression
• Creating complex punishment systems
• Controlling information
• Generating perpetual fear

Political Manifestation. Religious ideologies frequently generate political movements that mirror totalitarian structures, prioritizing doctrinal compliance over human dignity.

8. Secular Humanism Offers a More Ethical and Rational Worldview

"We shall have no more prophets or sages from the ancient quarter."

Rational Alternative. Secular humanism provides a more compassionate, evidence-based approach to understanding human experience and moral behavior.

Humanist Principles:

• Prioritizing human welfare
• Embracing scientific understanding
• Promoting individual freedom
• Encouraging critical thinking
• Valuing empirical evidence

Ethical Framework. Secular humanism offers a dynamic, adaptable moral system based on reason, empathy, and collective human experience.

9. Religious Claims About Morality Are Fundamentally Hypocritical

"The corollary that believers will behave better has been statistically disproven."

Moral Inconsistency. Religious institutions consistently fail to demonstrate superior moral behavior, often engaging in precisely the behaviors they condemn.

Hypocritical Patterns:

• Sexual abuse within religious hierarchies
• Financial corruption
• Political manipulation
• Systematic discrimination
• Doctrinal contradictions

Ethical Bankruptcy. Religious moral claims frequently collapse under minimal scrutiny, revealing complex systems of rationalization and self-interest.

10. Religions Systematically Mutilate and Control Human Sexuality

"The connection between religious barbarism and sexual repression could not be plainer."

Sexual Control Mechanisms. Religious systems develop elaborate methods of controlling human sexual expression, generating profound psychological and physical harm.

Control Strategies:

• Genital mutilation
• Creating complex sexual prohibitions
• Generating pervasive sexual shame
• Controlling reproductive choices
• Enforcing strict gender hierarchies

Psychological Impact. These control mechanisms generate widespread trauma, limiting human potential and individual sexual and emotional development.

Last updated: March 21, 2025