God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, written in 2007 by English American author Christopher Hitchens, is a multi-faceted exploration of religion as a negative force in the world. The book’s central thesis is that religious belief is ultimately more damaging than beneficial. Hitchens argues his point using a wide range of examples from different religions, such as religious oppression in matters of science and sexuality and the tendency for violent acts to be carried out in the name of faith. While his main focus is on the three “major monotheisms”—the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—he argues that Eastern religions are also just as destructive.

God Is Not Great reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list by its third week of publication, outpacing the extremely popular final Harry Potter novel. It was a finalist in the non-fiction category for the 2007 National Book Award in the United States. Published first in the United Kingdom as god is not Great: The Case Against Religion and in the United States as god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, it was republished in 2017 with no subtitle and with the pointed non-capitalization of “god” removed.