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The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture
Dr. Darrel Ray, psychologist and lifelong student of religion, discusses religious infection from the inside out. How does guilt play into religious infection? Why is sexual control so important to so many religions? What causes the anxiety and neuroticism around death and dying? How does religion inject itself into so many areas of life, culture, and politics? The author explores this and much more in his book The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture. This second-generation book takes the reader several steps beyond previous offerings and into the realm of the personal and emotional mechanisms that affect anyone who lives in a culture steeped in religion. Examples are used that anyone can relate to and the author gives real-world guidance in how to deal with and respond to people who are religious in our families, and among our friends and coworkers.
241 pages, Paperback
Published December 5, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
August 28, 2013
I wasn't expecting much from this book. I thought the title alone was problematic: it seemed like another intentionally incendiary title along the lines of "The God Delusion" and "God is Not Great", intended to arouse controversy and enrage believers. Yeah, I get it, religion sucks so bad it's like a virus, right? Very original. But I decided to give it a read anyway, suspecting it to be some angry PZ Meyers-esque tirade about how stupid religion is and so forth.
Boy, I was completely wrong. This book is fantastic. First, Dr. Ray doesn't mean "God Virus" to be pejorative, he means it literally. Ray describes properties of viruses in nature, and explains how religions exhibit these exact same behaviors. The analogy is unbelievably useful, and it provides a very interesting and useful perspective on religious belief. This comparison provides a model that makes tons and tons of sense of behaviors we see in religious individuals, providing a framework for understanding how religions work, how they spread, and how they affect the religious. I was consistently stunned at how perfectly this analogy described confusing things I've seen in the real world, and how much sense it made of things for me.
A great deal of the book is spent explaining how perfectly this model fits. I'd argue the bulk of the book is spent really just convincing the reader that talking about theism in this way provides explanatory power that would otherwise be lacking from the conversation. One example I really enjoyed was how it made sense of something I've always wondered. As a nonbeliever, I've always found myself curious about how a religion like Christianity could come to exist if untrue. It seems almost perfectly formed to conquer the globe, and I've wondered how I could be expected to believe that a person or a series of people could form a religion so perfectly; how could any one person be so forward-thinking as to design a religious belief set so ideal? Well, this framework provides a simple answer that I never really understood before: there have been many many religions, each of them tuned in different ways almost at random by the people who created them, but most of them have died out, leaving only the "fittest" religions around in the modern day. Thinking of religions as memetic organisms struggling to survive in the environment of culture clears this question up entirely, and provided me with a great deal of insight.
The rest of the book, which assumes you've seen the usefulness of this model, explains how to use this understanding to influence how you interact with the world around you, particularly with religious people in your life. This advice is absolutely indispensable, both explaining surprising things I've seen from the religious, as well as giving me useful tips for future interactions. As someone who is nonreligious but has extremely religious in-laws, I cannot express how incredibly useful this advice is, and how it's fundamentally altered my approach for dealing with this delicate subject matter.
The incendiary title is unfortunate, but frankly given what it describes, I think it's unavoidable. But I don't think the title is meant to anger believers, in fact the book isn't even for them. Ray specifically advises AGAINST giving this book to religious relatives or friends, knowing how they'd react by being informed by his framework. Instead, this book is for nonreligious people, particularly with those who struggle understanding or relating to religious people in their lives, such as family or friends. For those people, I literally cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is an absolutely essential read.
Boy, I was completely wrong. This book is fantastic. First, Dr. Ray doesn't mean "God Virus" to be pejorative, he means it literally. Ray describes properties of viruses in nature, and explains how religions exhibit these exact same behaviors. The analogy is unbelievably useful, and it provides a very interesting and useful perspective on religious belief. This comparison provides a model that makes tons and tons of sense of behaviors we see in religious individuals, providing a framework for understanding how religions work, how they spread, and how they affect the religious. I was consistently stunned at how perfectly this analogy described confusing things I've seen in the real world, and how much sense it made of things for me.
A great deal of the book is spent explaining how perfectly this model fits. I'd argue the bulk of the book is spent really just convincing the reader that talking about theism in this way provides explanatory power that would otherwise be lacking from the conversation. One example I really enjoyed was how it made sense of something I've always wondered. As a nonbeliever, I've always found myself curious about how a religion like Christianity could come to exist if untrue. It seems almost perfectly formed to conquer the globe, and I've wondered how I could be expected to believe that a person or a series of people could form a religion so perfectly; how could any one person be so forward-thinking as to design a religious belief set so ideal? Well, this framework provides a simple answer that I never really understood before: there have been many many religions, each of them tuned in different ways almost at random by the people who created them, but most of them have died out, leaving only the "fittest" religions around in the modern day. Thinking of religions as memetic organisms struggling to survive in the environment of culture clears this question up entirely, and provided me with a great deal of insight.
The rest of the book, which assumes you've seen the usefulness of this model, explains how to use this understanding to influence how you interact with the world around you, particularly with religious people in your life. This advice is absolutely indispensable, both explaining surprising things I've seen from the religious, as well as giving me useful tips for future interactions. As someone who is nonreligious but has extremely religious in-laws, I cannot express how incredibly useful this advice is, and how it's fundamentally altered my approach for dealing with this delicate subject matter.
The incendiary title is unfortunate, but frankly given what it describes, I think it's unavoidable. But I don't think the title is meant to anger believers, in fact the book isn't even for them. Ray specifically advises AGAINST giving this book to religious relatives or friends, knowing how they'd react by being informed by his framework. Instead, this book is for nonreligious people, particularly with those who struggle understanding or relating to religious people in their lives, such as family or friends. For those people, I literally cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is an absolutely essential read.
December 8, 2010
This is probably the best book on the subject of religion that I have ever read. The book explains how religion does what it does.
The book uses the term "god virus" as an extended analogy for what happens when a person becomes infected by religion. There are many parallels between viruses and religion. Ray uses terms such as vectors, binding, and uncoupling (from culture) to describe what happens to the individual who falls prey to a god virus.
A god virus is able to disable the critical thinking skills of its host so that one's own religion appears to be without error, while at the same time errors in other approaches to religion are obvious to the host.
Just as when a body weakens it becomes more susceptible to infection, the same thing happens with regard to a god virus. Emotional turmoil and distress may bring out the vectors for infection. Whenever there is a tragedy, it seems to bring out the religious because they see the opportunity to be had to spread the virus.
Ray gives advice on living a virus-free life. "Freely and openly acknowledging your own death as the ultimate end is the first step in virus-free living," writes Ray.
Comparing science to religion, Ray notes that "Science has a built-in error correction mechanism that does not exist in religion." I think this goes a long way to explain why there are so many denominations, while science is more unified. "Progress in science is demonstrable. The progress of religion is non-existent."
The analogy between viruses and god-belief helps us understand the way religion operates. I strongly recommend this book to those with an interest in religion.
The book uses the term "god virus" as an extended analogy for what happens when a person becomes infected by religion. There are many parallels between viruses and religion. Ray uses terms such as vectors, binding, and uncoupling (from culture) to describe what happens to the individual who falls prey to a god virus.
A god virus is able to disable the critical thinking skills of its host so that one's own religion appears to be without error, while at the same time errors in other approaches to religion are obvious to the host.
Just as when a body weakens it becomes more susceptible to infection, the same thing happens with regard to a god virus. Emotional turmoil and distress may bring out the vectors for infection. Whenever there is a tragedy, it seems to bring out the religious because they see the opportunity to be had to spread the virus.
Ray gives advice on living a virus-free life. "Freely and openly acknowledging your own death as the ultimate end is the first step in virus-free living," writes Ray.
Comparing science to religion, Ray notes that "Science has a built-in error correction mechanism that does not exist in religion." I think this goes a long way to explain why there are so many denominations, while science is more unified. "Progress in science is demonstrable. The progress of religion is non-existent."
The analogy between viruses and god-belief helps us understand the way religion operates. I strongly recommend this book to those with an interest in religion.
May 24, 2014
This book relates religion to a virus. The author is very through in his analysis of all religions and how they have played a negative role throughout history. I wanted to read this to get some insight into my fundamentalist family. I now have a deeper understanding as to how intrenched religious beliefs are, how they are promoted, and a history of religion itself. While this book may not be for everyone, it certainly is an eye-opener.
February 20, 2012
the parasite nature of religion , and how it become more like the vampire bite once u were bitten u will complete ur entire life bite and drink blood , it talks about the thoughts viruses
its about the dark maze of myth where most of 70% of the world live in .
i loved the book it made me feel FREE
its about the dark maze of myth where most of 70% of the world live in .
i loved the book it made me feel FREE
January 31, 2013
Once I started, I could not put it down. The material covers every aspect of why religion is literally like a virus. The comparisons made to how real viruses work illuminate how easy it is to become infected. It details why they remain infected and, in a common sense, easy to understand fashion, make the statements plausible and, furthermore, accurate. I would highly recommend this to anyone who understands the premise, but wants his/her own thought process validated. I would also recommend this to those who identify as believers. Or if you have any close family or friends who are religious and would be open to reading it, pick up a copy for them! They just might have some light bulb moments to understand why THEY are infected. Excellent read!
March 29, 2012
At first I was wondering where the author was going with this. Sure, I understood the concept of memetic "infections" etc., but sometimes I find that people latch on to science and some "pop-psychology" ideas to explain positions or social movements, etc. that really have nothing to do with the actual basic concepts of underlying science. I think of "Social Darwinism" for example of where adherents don;t really "get it" and of quantum mechanics as some way to explain "new age" bullshit (think Deepak Chopra here).
However, the author (Ray) does start to gain the traction I was hoping for once I got about 50-75 pages into the book and I could see where he was going. Ray's examples were solid and he questioned his own suppositions and claims. The fact that he is of the "religiosity reformed" type -- my phrase for people who finally see that religion is basically a bunch of superstitious ideas created by our Iron Age and Bronze Age ancestors and then start to "convert" others which is another avenue of exploration altogether -- actually serves him well here, plus the fact that he is a psychologist and practicing psychotherapist lends some weight. Further, that he actually started as a "Christian Counselor/Therapist" is even more intriguing and provides deepr insights.
I recommend the book to anyone who was raised in a religious way and is not really come to realize that maybe all of that stuff that was literally "stuffed" into their heads as a child and young adult was maybe so much crap, but they still can't quite shake the fear and doubt and the potential "loss" that they still find themselves bargaining with "god", praying, and reverting to old ways when under stress or around "the faithful" and then afterwards feeling foolish again. This is the book for you. I think it will open your eyes and let you see that actually you're "infected" with an idea and that you've been conditioned and had that conditioning reinforced over the years both subtly or overtly.
Just be sure to give it at least 75 pages. One nice feature to me of the book is the lots of footnotes and great quotes about religion, etc. all in great context for the discussion in the book. It also one of the few books in recent years in which I highlighted a lot of lines, passages, etc. within my Nook.
However, the author (Ray) does start to gain the traction I was hoping for once I got about 50-75 pages into the book and I could see where he was going. Ray's examples were solid and he questioned his own suppositions and claims. The fact that he is of the "religiosity reformed" type -- my phrase for people who finally see that religion is basically a bunch of superstitious ideas created by our Iron Age and Bronze Age ancestors and then start to "convert" others which is another avenue of exploration altogether -- actually serves him well here, plus the fact that he is a psychologist and practicing psychotherapist lends some weight. Further, that he actually started as a "Christian Counselor/Therapist" is even more intriguing and provides deepr insights.
I recommend the book to anyone who was raised in a religious way and is not really come to realize that maybe all of that stuff that was literally "stuffed" into their heads as a child and young adult was maybe so much crap, but they still can't quite shake the fear and doubt and the potential "loss" that they still find themselves bargaining with "god", praying, and reverting to old ways when under stress or around "the faithful" and then afterwards feeling foolish again. This is the book for you. I think it will open your eyes and let you see that actually you're "infected" with an idea and that you've been conditioned and had that conditioning reinforced over the years both subtly or overtly.
Just be sure to give it at least 75 pages. One nice feature to me of the book is the lots of footnotes and great quotes about religion, etc. all in great context for the discussion in the book. It also one of the few books in recent years in which I highlighted a lot of lines, passages, etc. within my Nook.
December 31, 2010
This is a really good book. I have an interest in psychology, so really appreciated the insights that Dr. Ray brought using his psychology background. His discussions on how guilt and fear are such a strong motivation for the infected to stay infected was particularly illuminating. The book is not written in complicated, technical terms, which makes it an easy and accessbile read to everyone. The virus analogy is sometimes, a little over done, but mostly perfect. I was extremely impressed with this book!
March 14, 2013
Mind blown. The author relates being religious as being infected with the virus of religion. While the idea made me uncomfortable and I thought it was blasphemous, it was an interesting argument. It suggests being infected with one religion inoculates you from another. For example, a Catholic would never decide to become a Muslim. It also had interesting religion history lessons to back up arguments. For example, as the U.S. got bigger and churches could not maintain control over its believers, new religions popped up in the U.S. in the 1800s, such as Seventh Day Advents, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses. My hubby found it interesting that a study showed the non-religious had the lowest divorce rate while the highest was smack in the middle of the Bible Belt. The author suggests even if you are not religious, religion infects culture and politics which can also have influence over people's lives. Was a very interesting read.
June 18, 2016
The author delves into the mind of the fundamentalists and the religionists, exploring the various psychological mechanisms that make them behave the way they do for their religion. Dr Ray likens religion to a virus that disables rational thought and, in some cases, produces extremist behaviors in an infected person.
It is a very chilling read. The book was written many years ago, and the things the author predicted are happening in the world right now.
It is a very chilling read. The book was written many years ago, and the things the author predicted are happening in the world right now.
September 9, 2019
Wow great book
March 17, 2014
I was disappointed in this book, it could have been so much more. However, it is marred by two great failings: the author's negative tone and his habit of stating without proof.
First, the author is so full of bitterness and vitriol that he cannot give a balanced account. For example, virus could have been just a metaphor to help us understand the ways in which religion is like a reproducing organism and subject to selective forces. Instead the word virus is used as a pejorative. He repeats it endlessly underlining his hatred and opposition. People don't believe, they are "infected." People don't choose to preach, they "become vectors."
I paid and am still paying a high price for my mistaken belief. It appears that Mr. Ray was an active believer himself. So, I can sympathize with his feelings of betrayal. However, bitterness and anger are not constructive in this context. (Are they in any?)
Second, the author frequently makes assertions with very little evidence. For example, he states that religions control sexuality so that they can control human propagation and thus have a better chance of infecting the next generation. To me, this is a possibility, but it is not at all obvious. Maybe religions control sexuality because in the times when they developed, sexual control controlled financial flows and ensured more income for the gods and their workers. Maybe they control sexuality because people are constantly confused about sexuality and thus were more accepting of a religion that offered rules that made it seem less confusing. To my memory, he cites no studies and references no textbooks to back up his claim. At best he tells anecdotes or appeals to the reader's intuition and/or experience.
Mr. Ray denigrates Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family as "Focus on the Virus". However, I remember Dr. Dobson citing scientific research in his books many more times than Mr. Ray cited serious study in his.
The only silver lining to Mr. Ray's poorly-supported claims comes from a change in viewpoint. If I think of him as suggesting hypotheses to test, rather than asserting them as fact, the book becomes very interesting. It proposes many ways in which religions might be shaped by their need to propagate and their need for physical, mental, and temporal resources to do so. As such, this book could provide many social-science PhD students with their dissertations and with years of interesting research during their careers if they were interested in testing his claims.
First, the author is so full of bitterness and vitriol that he cannot give a balanced account. For example, virus could have been just a metaphor to help us understand the ways in which religion is like a reproducing organism and subject to selective forces. Instead the word virus is used as a pejorative. He repeats it endlessly underlining his hatred and opposition. People don't believe, they are "infected." People don't choose to preach, they "become vectors."
I paid and am still paying a high price for my mistaken belief. It appears that Mr. Ray was an active believer himself. So, I can sympathize with his feelings of betrayal. However, bitterness and anger are not constructive in this context. (Are they in any?)
Second, the author frequently makes assertions with very little evidence. For example, he states that religions control sexuality so that they can control human propagation and thus have a better chance of infecting the next generation. To me, this is a possibility, but it is not at all obvious. Maybe religions control sexuality because in the times when they developed, sexual control controlled financial flows and ensured more income for the gods and their workers. Maybe they control sexuality because people are constantly confused about sexuality and thus were more accepting of a religion that offered rules that made it seem less confusing. To my memory, he cites no studies and references no textbooks to back up his claim. At best he tells anecdotes or appeals to the reader's intuition and/or experience.
Mr. Ray denigrates Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family as "Focus on the Virus". However, I remember Dr. Dobson citing scientific research in his books many more times than Mr. Ray cited serious study in his.
The only silver lining to Mr. Ray's poorly-supported claims comes from a change in viewpoint. If I think of him as suggesting hypotheses to test, rather than asserting them as fact, the book becomes very interesting. It proposes many ways in which religions might be shaped by their need to propagate and their need for physical, mental, and temporal resources to do so. As such, this book could provide many social-science PhD students with their dissertations and with years of interesting research during their careers if they were interested in testing his claims.
July 22, 2014
The book acts as an immunization against those who are infected with the religious virus. The author is never in your face and is mostly about giving the non-theist a way to think and understand the thinking behind the theist believers. I found this book a much better listen than Sam Harris' book, "The End of Faith". They cover similar material, but I found better arguments (through the metaphor of the virus) in this book.
The author even has a section on how to talk with religious people if you must (okay, the author doesn't say 'must', that's not his style at all). For example, if a believer says he'll be praying about you, just reply and say 'thanks, I'll be thinking about you". A non-confrontational approach which doesn't compromise your belief system is always preferable to pointless arguments.
The author reads his own book. He does a good job. He's not a great reader, but by having the author read his own book, I the listener get a better interpretation of the book.
The author even has a section on how to talk with religious people if you must (okay, the author doesn't say 'must', that's not his style at all). For example, if a believer says he'll be praying about you, just reply and say 'thanks, I'll be thinking about you". A non-confrontational approach which doesn't compromise your belief system is always preferable to pointless arguments.
The author reads his own book. He does a good job. He's not a great reader, but by having the author read his own book, I the listener get a better interpretation of the book.
March 18, 2014
I completely forgot to write this review immediately after I read it so the best I can do is write about why it earns 5 stars and an unhesitating strongly-recommend:
Darrel Ray, using the language of infectious disease and bacteriology, lays before the reader a clear explanation of how, even if you are a non-believer, religion affects your life. He addresses the "hot buttons" of sex, gender, politics, and family.
The strength of this book, as I remember it, is in the academic rigor of his work. He is not satisfied to give general explanations but goes deeper and maintains his conceit of religion as an infectious disease in need of treatment.
Strongly recommend, and am considering a re-read myself.
Darrel Ray, using the language of infectious disease and bacteriology, lays before the reader a clear explanation of how, even if you are a non-believer, religion affects your life. He addresses the "hot buttons" of sex, gender, politics, and family.
The strength of this book, as I remember it, is in the academic rigor of his work. He is not satisfied to give general explanations but goes deeper and maintains his conceit of religion as an infectious disease in need of treatment.
Strongly recommend, and am considering a re-read myself.
July 24, 2011
vitriolic even by my standards and noticeably self congratulatory. There is valuable information on offer here, the only issue is you may have to sift through plenty of dubious narrative to find it.
May 22, 2013
Renowned psychologist Darrel Ray likens religion to a virus in this complex yet accessible tome. One of his first examples is the Toxoplasma Gandii parasite, which will override a mouse's instinctive fear of all things feline and seek out their natural enemy (the parasite can only reproduce inside cats). Likewise with the god virus, religion can cause humans to commit genetic suicide (think terrorist bombers, priests and nuns) in the service of their religion. The overreaching theme of the book is that religion (and those most heavily infected with the virus) do not care about their flock. All they care about is spreading their religion, and damn the consequences. As a fundamentalist Baptist for two decades, Ray is perfectly placed to examine and dissect the flawed arguments and effective tactics of religion. And, as a psychologist, he is able to give an objective, scientific illustration of why religions act in the way they do, how they have become so extravagantly successful, and what can be done to combat it.
Darrel Ray opens his book (written for non-believers) with a suggestion: talk to a Christian friend and ask their permission to record and/or transcribe the conversation. Ask them to explain their theistic beliefs in detail. Then, a few days or weeks later, repeat their statement of faith to them after replacing Jesus with Mohammed. The inescapable conclusion is that while religious individuals can see through the gimmicks and nonsensical arguments of every other religion (and schisms within their own, such as Mormonism). These schisms and inconsistent beliefs are not only powerful evidence against the truth of any one religion, but have also led to countless intra-faith and inter-faith conflicts throughout human history.
Chapter One details the spread of viruses in the natural world and through cultures. Viruses are spread by vectors (mosquitoes for malaria, priests, imams and rabbis for religion). Because of the enormous investment of time and money that training these individuals require, the virus will instinctively protect its vectors in the face of scandals. The recent surfeit of child rape atrocities in the Catholic church is a contemporary case study here. Religions will frequently use meaningless rituals to reinforce their beliefs in the mind of their believers. Why would Islam require five daily prayers (facing Mecca, no less) if their deity was actually real? Why the cultural and social practice of weekly sermons and proscriptions against masturbation in many religions? If it's good for the virus, it will spread and remain as long as it remains useful. They also tend to be very specific as to what constitutes "charity" (the ACLU typically doesn't qualify). Contradictions are rife, but the virus neuter's its host's capacity for critical thinking and reason (except where "heathen" faiths are concerned). Martyrs can be profitable "fruit" for sects, as was the case of Joseph Smith and Mormonism.
Chapter Two details religion's natural tendency for schisms and conflict. Sunnis and Shi'ites just can't seem to get along. Al Qaeda seems to loathe both groups equally. As an example, Iran has tried to keep fundamentalist Islam contained, but it continues to flare up violently on occasion. Religions can be grouped into three categories - parasitic, symbiotic and a hybrid of the two. All religions have some tangible benefits for their societies; they would not have survived very long without them. Jehovah's Witnesses can be very parasitic at times, especially since their dogma forbids blood transfusions. The harm that this can cause led to Russia clamping down on their religious practices to protect children and families from splitting apart.
Chapter Three begins with a description of early tribal religions and how it is the goal of most religions (at least in Europe and the US today) to seize control of the state (which will lead to further control as the two institutions become indistinguishable). Not only does this violate the protections of the US Constitution, but if successful, would threaten the religious freedom of every religion not in power. The myth of religious organisations doing more good than secular ones is smashed to smithereens here. Studies have shown that only around 5% of donations to churches and other religious institutions actually goes to benefit impoverished individuals (building wells, farming, education etc.). The vast majority is wasted on bibles (unless you're a goat), preaching, church buildings and instilling religious rituals and teachings, which have no benefit here on Earth.
By stark contrast, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and other charities motivated by a desire to reduce suffering spend close to 80% on directly helping communities, with most of the remainder on administrative costs. No plush, extravagant mansions for these altruists.
Chapter Four deals with repressive sexual teachings, and how they can instill individuals with guilt (which is covered in detail later) for normal desires such as masturbating and fantasising about attractive adults. The contradictory messages of religion are shown here, and are so transparent all but the most brainwashed (or willfully ignorant) can and will see them. Misogyny and emotional blackmail are also rife.
I would go through the chapters individually, but I'm already starting to ramble. It is safe to say that scientific education is the best vaccine we have against theism, as showcased in Japan and Europe, where creationism has been held at bay, more or less. When dealing with the infected, be polite and do not ridicule their beliefs. Notice when they have put up a wall or are unwilling to discuss certain subjects. This will often be in a different tone, glance or personality. When dealing with grief, be tactful, and put your own skepticism aside to comfort them. If they need a priest or rabbi at their deathbed, arrange for it. Compassion is crucial in such situations. Honesty is once again the best policy; do not indicate that you might be interested in converting (unless, of course, you actually are).
The myth of objective religious morality is exposed as a fraud and a sham. Not only do evangelical Christians divorce more frequently than atheists and agnostics, but their own preachers, held up as paragons of virtue, often and even when they fall (Satan must really be going after them since he's doing such a good job of winning souls for Christ). Furthermore, even such things as the definition of "murder" have changed through history. In Old Testament times, certainly, it was not murder to beat your slave so badly that he or she died after a few sunsets. Black lynchings were accepted in racist portions of America in past decades. As Matt Dillahunty eloquently put it, religion has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Enlightenment ideals led to more humans laws and compassionate societies, not religious edicts that cannot be empirically verified and must be taken on faith.
This book is a must-read for anyone incredulous or concerned at religion's pernicious and near-ubiquitous influence in modern society.
Darrel Ray opens his book (written for non-believers) with a suggestion: talk to a Christian friend and ask their permission to record and/or transcribe the conversation. Ask them to explain their theistic beliefs in detail. Then, a few days or weeks later, repeat their statement of faith to them after replacing Jesus with Mohammed. The inescapable conclusion is that while religious individuals can see through the gimmicks and nonsensical arguments of every other religion (and schisms within their own, such as Mormonism). These schisms and inconsistent beliefs are not only powerful evidence against the truth of any one religion, but have also led to countless intra-faith and inter-faith conflicts throughout human history.
Chapter One details the spread of viruses in the natural world and through cultures. Viruses are spread by vectors (mosquitoes for malaria, priests, imams and rabbis for religion). Because of the enormous investment of time and money that training these individuals require, the virus will instinctively protect its vectors in the face of scandals. The recent surfeit of child rape atrocities in the Catholic church is a contemporary case study here. Religions will frequently use meaningless rituals to reinforce their beliefs in the mind of their believers. Why would Islam require five daily prayers (facing Mecca, no less) if their deity was actually real? Why the cultural and social practice of weekly sermons and proscriptions against masturbation in many religions? If it's good for the virus, it will spread and remain as long as it remains useful. They also tend to be very specific as to what constitutes "charity" (the ACLU typically doesn't qualify). Contradictions are rife, but the virus neuter's its host's capacity for critical thinking and reason (except where "heathen" faiths are concerned). Martyrs can be profitable "fruit" for sects, as was the case of Joseph Smith and Mormonism.
Chapter Two details religion's natural tendency for schisms and conflict. Sunnis and Shi'ites just can't seem to get along. Al Qaeda seems to loathe both groups equally. As an example, Iran has tried to keep fundamentalist Islam contained, but it continues to flare up violently on occasion. Religions can be grouped into three categories - parasitic, symbiotic and a hybrid of the two. All religions have some tangible benefits for their societies; they would not have survived very long without them. Jehovah's Witnesses can be very parasitic at times, especially since their dogma forbids blood transfusions. The harm that this can cause led to Russia clamping down on their religious practices to protect children and families from splitting apart.
Chapter Three begins with a description of early tribal religions and how it is the goal of most religions (at least in Europe and the US today) to seize control of the state (which will lead to further control as the two institutions become indistinguishable). Not only does this violate the protections of the US Constitution, but if successful, would threaten the religious freedom of every religion not in power. The myth of religious organisations doing more good than secular ones is smashed to smithereens here. Studies have shown that only around 5% of donations to churches and other religious institutions actually goes to benefit impoverished individuals (building wells, farming, education etc.). The vast majority is wasted on bibles (unless you're a goat), preaching, church buildings and instilling religious rituals and teachings, which have no benefit here on Earth.
By stark contrast, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and other charities motivated by a desire to reduce suffering spend close to 80% on directly helping communities, with most of the remainder on administrative costs. No plush, extravagant mansions for these altruists.
Chapter Four deals with repressive sexual teachings, and how they can instill individuals with guilt (which is covered in detail later) for normal desires such as masturbating and fantasising about attractive adults. The contradictory messages of religion are shown here, and are so transparent all but the most brainwashed (or willfully ignorant) can and will see them. Misogyny and emotional blackmail are also rife.
I would go through the chapters individually, but I'm already starting to ramble. It is safe to say that scientific education is the best vaccine we have against theism, as showcased in Japan and Europe, where creationism has been held at bay, more or less. When dealing with the infected, be polite and do not ridicule their beliefs. Notice when they have put up a wall or are unwilling to discuss certain subjects. This will often be in a different tone, glance or personality. When dealing with grief, be tactful, and put your own skepticism aside to comfort them. If they need a priest or rabbi at their deathbed, arrange for it. Compassion is crucial in such situations. Honesty is once again the best policy; do not indicate that you might be interested in converting (unless, of course, you actually are).
The myth of objective religious morality is exposed as a fraud and a sham. Not only do evangelical Christians divorce more frequently than atheists and agnostics, but their own preachers, held up as paragons of virtue, often and even when they fall (Satan must really be going after them since he's doing such a good job of winning souls for Christ). Furthermore, even such things as the definition of "murder" have changed through history. In Old Testament times, certainly, it was not murder to beat your slave so badly that he or she died after a few sunsets. Black lynchings were accepted in racist portions of America in past decades. As Matt Dillahunty eloquently put it, religion has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Enlightenment ideals led to more humans laws and compassionate societies, not religious edicts that cannot be empirically verified and must be taken on faith.
This book is a must-read for anyone incredulous or concerned at religion's pernicious and near-ubiquitous influence in modern society.
August 18, 2025
Pretty good book that covered an aspect of religion (comparing the propagation and spread of religions to the spread of viruses) that I hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about before.
However, the author (a psychologist) spends more time explaining and comparing the mechanisms than the human psychology behind it and why some of us seem naturally immune to religious belief despite a childhood steeped in it. He briefly asserts that those who are more anxious and more afraid of death are likely to be held captive by religion, but as the most anxious and scared of death person I know, I think that's pretty far off base. My anecdotal experience leads me to believe that it's people who are naturally curious, contrarian, and/or value truth above all else that turn out atheist.
It's also very tied to its publication date, but I actually found it interesting to revisit how much has changed (in some cases for the better and some the worse) since 2009.
However, the author (a psychologist) spends more time explaining and comparing the mechanisms than the human psychology behind it and why some of us seem naturally immune to religious belief despite a childhood steeped in it. He briefly asserts that those who are more anxious and more afraid of death are likely to be held captive by religion, but as the most anxious and scared of death person I know, I think that's pretty far off base. My anecdotal experience leads me to believe that it's people who are naturally curious, contrarian, and/or value truth above all else that turn out atheist.
It's also very tied to its publication date, but I actually found it interesting to revisit how much has changed (in some cases for the better and some the worse) since 2009.
April 22, 2018
Preface: Yes I am an atheist.
It's very clear from the first chapter that Ray thinks religion is nothing but a disease with no positive qualities. He compares religion to Lyme disease, malaria, chicken pox, smallpox, rabies, HIV, the common cold, Ebola, bubonic plague, the flu, the lancet fluke, herpes, toxoplasmosis, a disability, alcoholism, West Nile, demonic possession, and the plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Religion is never something you freely choose, but something horrible that happens to you. Religion is an infection that turns you into a slave. People have no agency when it comes to religion in Ray’s world.
He seems to be under the impression that religion (literally) disables parts of your brain and turns you into a faith spreading zombie. It apparently turns off the parts of the brain responsible for critical thinking, rationality, and science comprehension (I didn’t know there was a “science” lobe). For Ray, Religions are dangerous pathogens to be wiped out through inoculation. He even seems to speak positively of Russian and Chinese human rights violations, as if infringing on freedom of religion was sound public health policy.
The metaphor is stretched way too far and is little more than a polemic repackaging of memetics. It’s amazing to me that Ray, as a psychologist, considers religions to be like diseases needing to be stamped out, and not a normal part of the human condition. The pathologizing of religious belief is ignorant, irresponsible, and even potentially dangerous, especially coming from a trained (and I assuming practicing) psychologist.
Worse the book is riddled with simple factual errors. At times Ray comes off as extremely Islamophobic, although I suspect he's simply just ignorant of the non-Christian religions. Ray’s historical examples are all gross oversimplifications, completely one dimensional, highly selective, and often totally incorrect. He invokes the long discredited and debunked idea of the “alpha male”. At other times he insinuates Jesus was homosexual because he was unmarried and charismatic. Rays use of “statistics” is also egregiously misleading. Finally, the latter half is riddled with typos and grammatical errors.
It's very clear from the first chapter that Ray thinks religion is nothing but a disease with no positive qualities. He compares religion to Lyme disease, malaria, chicken pox, smallpox, rabies, HIV, the common cold, Ebola, bubonic plague, the flu, the lancet fluke, herpes, toxoplasmosis, a disability, alcoholism, West Nile, demonic possession, and the plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Religion is never something you freely choose, but something horrible that happens to you. Religion is an infection that turns you into a slave. People have no agency when it comes to religion in Ray’s world.
He seems to be under the impression that religion (literally) disables parts of your brain and turns you into a faith spreading zombie. It apparently turns off the parts of the brain responsible for critical thinking, rationality, and science comprehension (I didn’t know there was a “science” lobe). For Ray, Religions are dangerous pathogens to be wiped out through inoculation. He even seems to speak positively of Russian and Chinese human rights violations, as if infringing on freedom of religion was sound public health policy.
The metaphor is stretched way too far and is little more than a polemic repackaging of memetics. It’s amazing to me that Ray, as a psychologist, considers religions to be like diseases needing to be stamped out, and not a normal part of the human condition. The pathologizing of religious belief is ignorant, irresponsible, and even potentially dangerous, especially coming from a trained (and I assuming practicing) psychologist.
Worse the book is riddled with simple factual errors. At times Ray comes off as extremely Islamophobic, although I suspect he's simply just ignorant of the non-Christian religions. Ray’s historical examples are all gross oversimplifications, completely one dimensional, highly selective, and often totally incorrect. He invokes the long discredited and debunked idea of the “alpha male”. At other times he insinuates Jesus was homosexual because he was unmarried and charismatic. Rays use of “statistics” is also egregiously misleading. Finally, the latter half is riddled with typos and grammatical errors.
December 15, 2016
I grew up in the Christian faith and have become a secular humanist over the decades. I've had the chance to travel a bit in my life. This has given me the chance to sit down to have tea in Buddhist temples in the mountains of Korea, talked politics with Muslims in mosques in several countries, explored Spanish chapels on Pacific Islands. I know how much faith means to people. This book will annoy and offend you if you are a person of any faith. If you are a fellow secular humanist you will nod your head in agreement with much of it. Ray made a point that those who were against the communists were only anti-communists because they were affected by the God virus. I think he was making the point that only American Christians were against communism. I'm very anti-communist myself and for secular humanist reasons. I don't think this book will convince one person of his points, if that was his intent. It seems to have been written to start a debate by offending as many as possible.
Towards the end Ray wrote, "Non-believers have figured out there is no second coming, but there may be an apocalypse of viral stupidity." After a few military deployments I will admit this is something I think about quite a bit myself.
I don't actually get into debates about faith myself. I know people's faith is too important to them and any such conversation would be of no value. If one is interested in what led me to my current opinions I would recommend books like Constantine's Sword by Carroll, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by Shirer, The Better Angels of Our Nature by Pinker, Europe's Tragedy by Wilson, among many others. While you're reading these I would also recommend travel. A lot. Get to know and have coffee with as many people from as many places as possible.
Towards the end Ray wrote, "Non-believers have figured out there is no second coming, but there may be an apocalypse of viral stupidity." After a few military deployments I will admit this is something I think about quite a bit myself.
I don't actually get into debates about faith myself. I know people's faith is too important to them and any such conversation would be of no value. If one is interested in what led me to my current opinions I would recommend books like Constantine's Sword by Carroll, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by Shirer, The Better Angels of Our Nature by Pinker, Europe's Tragedy by Wilson, among many others. While you're reading these I would also recommend travel. A lot. Get to know and have coffee with as many people from as many places as possible.
June 23, 2014
Its the case against religion I have read thus far written in simple English with the least amount of venom. The book is a welcome relief from the patronising and condescending tone adopted by the Dawkins and Dennetts but still looses the plot for me when it defines Marxism as a religion. I would have hoped that a self appointed and rationalist and champion would be astute enough to note the absence of god in Marxism but was disappointed as the author failed to notice the minor absence. The author also seemed to put lot of faith behind democracy as he prophesied the disappearing of religion in India but the opposite seems to be happening at the moment with Hindu fundamentalists taking a firm charge of the government.
For me the fundamental flow was his assumption that apart from Islam, culture and politics are separate in the world. The recent elections in India has proved this assumption incorrect as well as the author's observation about American politics where all Presidential candidates are supposed to declare their religious affiliation explicitly which as unheard of a hundred years ago. Maybe atheists want to believe in this separation as it makes it easy for an atheist to ignore the religious platitudes?
All in all the book does successfully establish a strong analogy of religion as a virus. I especially liked the way the author's exorcism examples. We need a few more books to manhandle religious propaganda. But I guess like all good propaganda there has to be some level of exaggeration. Atheists will eventually learn how to produce successful literature to counter thousands of years religious literature.
For me the fundamental flow was his assumption that apart from Islam, culture and politics are separate in the world. The recent elections in India has proved this assumption incorrect as well as the author's observation about American politics where all Presidential candidates are supposed to declare their religious affiliation explicitly which as unheard of a hundred years ago. Maybe atheists want to believe in this separation as it makes it easy for an atheist to ignore the religious platitudes?
All in all the book does successfully establish a strong analogy of religion as a virus. I especially liked the way the author's exorcism examples. We need a few more books to manhandle religious propaganda. But I guess like all good propaganda there has to be some level of exaggeration. Atheists will eventually learn how to produce successful literature to counter thousands of years religious literature.
May 2, 2018
I enjoyed the topic of this book and think that the analogy drawn is helpful for perspective, however some of the conclusions drawn by Darrell Ray are not factual and should only be taken as conjecture. I feel that Ray generalized too often which can, at minimum, lead to inconsistent assumptions, and at worst, be harmful when engaging the religious. No doubt, religion permeates society and can be detrimental to those who operate under faith epistemology, but we need to be careful not to use the same methods the religious use when approaching us and instead meet at the individual level.
May 4, 2010
The author basically breaks down how religion infects the body and acts like a virus, controlling, infecting, eliminating, and narrowing down the individual into groups that agreed with the specific virus/religion. Interesting and fast read, informative. Lots of website related information posted at the bottom verifying facts and such.
February 13, 2018
I really found this book thought-provoking! I have not really thought about Religion being a virus but Dr. Ray explained it in a way that made a lot of sense.
January 18, 2023
There is a review for this book by an individual Rob, who puts very perfectly into words a general understanding of what this book is about. The god virus is not meant to be pejorative, but rather the author means it literally. How different religions can thrive in certain environments and cultures yet not in others, how humans play host to religious ideologies.
The author uses virus literally, to discuss how only the fittest religions have survived the test of time.
In particular I enjoyed portions relating to the discussion of church vs. State and the importance of it’s separation. Another important section for me was the discussion of religious morality, how religiosity does not equate morality.
This book is not intended for religious individuals but is rather meant for non-theists to understand how to interact with those in their lives who may be religious and how to navigate subtle influences of religion in everyday life and culture.
Essential read for sure!
The author uses virus literally, to discuss how only the fittest religions have survived the test of time.
In particular I enjoyed portions relating to the discussion of church vs. State and the importance of it’s separation. Another important section for me was the discussion of religious morality, how religiosity does not equate morality.
This book is not intended for religious individuals but is rather meant for non-theists to understand how to interact with those in their lives who may be religious and how to navigate subtle influences of religion in everyday life and culture.
Essential read for sure!
September 11, 2023
The unsophisticated and poorly defended thesis that religion is a virus ruins this book. I agree that religion is a collection of memes that do spread through a population analogous to a virus, and they can mutate to better fit their environment as well as better infect their hosts. But this is where the analogy ends. After one sentence. This is not a good foundation on which to try and write an entire book. The result is a sequence of tortured analogies defended using language misappropriated from biology and medicine. It's neither accurate nor elucidating. A surprising number of these terms from biology/medicine are tellingly mispronounced.
Darrel Ray is an awesome person and I'm a fan of his work as a host on the Atheist Experience. But this book sucks.
Darrel Ray is an awesome person and I'm a fan of his work as a host on the Atheist Experience. But this book sucks.
January 2, 2022
This book is very misleading and contradicts itself in many ways, not the least of which is the persistent contention that a pervasive idea, like a particular religious belief, is in fact a virus. While superficial comparison between religions and viruses has some merit, this author gets so buried in the analogy that, by the end of the book, he has abandoned any effort at all to recognize his analogy for the myth that it is. In fact, a juvenile reader could easily conclude from this book that religion is an actual virus. I would encourage anyone reading this book to first study the nature of biological viruses or perhaps read my review of Viruses, A Short Introduction
A Bit About Real Viruses
The virosphere is all about us: in the oceans, in bacteria, in plants, in the air we breathe, etc. There are hundreds of viruses within our own bodies that are still unidentified. Most viruses are 100 to 500 times smaller than bacteria.
It is debatable as to whether or not viruses are living things because they cannot reproduce on their own and seem to be mechanical in nature. By entering a living cell, viruses hijack the cells reproductive system to manufacture replicas of itself. The most successful viruses are those that have learned to live symbiotically with the host so that the host can remain alive to sustain the virus and spread infection. Viruses that kill their hosts quickly generally die away because they fail to infect other hosts fast enough.
As this author is quick to point out, viruses have also evolved ways of manipulating human beings to facilitate their transmission. The most basic of these manipulative techniques cause projections of bodily fluids that may be ingested by other hosts, such as sneezing, vomiting, or diarrhea. But, as the author recognizes, more profound transmission strategies exist. For example, the rabies virus encourages the infected to attack or bite another host. The author also cites the parasite toxiplasma gondii which somehow makes a mouse actively seek to be eaten by a cat, because toxiplasma gondii can only reproduce inside a cat. Similarly, the lancet fluke infects an ant and drives it up a grass blade so that it will be ingested into a cow.
Virologists speculate that many human functions, such as our sex drive, reproductive ability, cravings, etc. may have in fact evolved as a result of viral transmissions. In fact, viruses are much like building blocks, mutating constantly; and they are likely the catalyst for evolution in all life forms. The similarity between the entry of sperm into the female egg is remarkably similar to the intrusion of viruses into human cells.
Ideas Are Not Viruses
So, as anyone can see, this author’s whole idea of singularly equating religion to viruses is myopic because a similar contention can be made for any prolific idea. Examples include, a sudden prevalence of a particular fashion, such as bell-bottomed pants, a popular television series, sports team fanaticism, gang membership, or even attending a popular destination such as Disneyland. A reader can just as easily imagine this author equating vacations to Disneyland as some sort of pilgrimage because vacationers have been infected with the Disney virus. Or, imagine the author attributing the sudden desire of many people to wear bell bottom pants as infection by the bell-bottomed virus. Such absurdities haunt this book from start to finish.
The author’s analogy is obtusely restricted to religion while in fact all human ideas are similarly transmitted, some catching on, like Protestantism, social fads, the Enlightenment, etc. and others remaining latent. And, like real viruses, ideas evolve in time. This author would seemingly have us eradicate all religious ideas as an impatient remedy for the world’s problems, but that would simply thwart the evolutionary process. Without the process of formulating and tweaking our ideas, we would quickly revert back to an animalistic or primitive state, trusting only instincts for guidance.
While innate instincts may have initially evolved to facilitate the needs of invasive microbes, human beings are unique from other animals in the sense that they have some ability to resist instinctual actions. Our gut may be telling us to eat but if we are dieting we may resist eating. We may be motivated to have sex but the risk of effectuating a pregnancy may cause us to abstain. Our bones may be telling us to relax but we may labor instead for a future good, such as in planting fields or hunting.
Of course, humans do often develop wrong ideas and often endeavor to project wrong ideas upon others. The human being is a programmable life form that learns from its environment and imagines things as a result of the stimulus it receives from its surroundings. Past ideals such as racial prejudice, an earth centric universe, or McCarthyism, are prime examples of prevalent, yet inimical ideas. Not dissimilarly, this author endeavors to project the nihilistic ideas of atheism.
When other people refute inimical ideas, a dialectical exchange can result, from which there may emerge a synthesis of new revelation. We eventually learn that all races can make valuable contributions to humanity, that the earth revolves around the sun, and that every liberal is not communist. We solve problems by posing hypotheses and trying them out. Often, we have to learn the hard way that certain ideas are wrong, but we do learn. Just as species evolve, so our ideas evolve, including those pertaining to religion.
“To Be” or “Not to Be”, Open Minded
We can look back and examine our past mistakes, as this author does in his examination of organized religion, but we must do so fairly, looking at all angles, examining both the positive and the negative; because when we become totally one-sided, we eliminate dialectical exchange, and thereby stymie the evolutionary process. This author presents a totally biased attack against religion. One example is the author’s comparison of religious benefits to the taking of a “placebo pill”, without any endeavor to explore why a placebo pill is effective. A placebo works because the patient has faith that it will work, and the same sort of faith occurs within religions. The author’s energies should be focused upon exploring why this mysterious faith is effective instead of denigrating it as he does.
Certainly, there have been and are many religious errors, but there have also been many effective religious ministries. The author’s critique of organized religion is like criticizing a primitive man for not having telephones and televisions. The author is impatient for evolution to take its course, failing to recognize that half of the human population is below average intelligence and most have little education. Most people rise daily to seek shelter, sustenance, rest, and pleasure, with very little thought about spiritual matters. People may move through the motions of religious ceremony because of peer pressure, but they spend little time actually formulating their individual belief systems.
It is the few that carry us forward, those bold enough to speculate: that the earth is round, that a heliocentric solar system exists, that God is an enduring fire of unfathomable energy, that parallel universes exist, that the sprits of the dead float about us, that dreams deserve analyses, that a spectrum of innate ideas are available to those who meditate, etc. It is nothing short of horror to reject all of this in favor of the atheistic god, which is the void of non-existence. To do so is anti-human because it amounts to an extinguishing of the imagination.
By the middle of this book, the author has become so redundant in his criticisms that the reader is tempted to abandon the reading altogether. And, indeed the author expects that the believer will have abandoned the reading by this point, because he shifts perspectives and starts narrating as to a group of convinced atheists, offering advice on how to avoid religious indoctrination, persuade unbelievers, and how to “come out” with one’s atheism.
Everyone is indoctrinated with something. As we live, we ingest information from our environment and process it mentally. This is called “living our lives” and it is not something that can be easily jettisoned in favor of the void. To make oneself immune to surrounding influences is to withdraw from life. Because we are not omnipotent, we simply do not know everything, and we cannot prove everything; but that doesn’t mean we must disbelieve everything.
One who limits their intake to only what has been proven becomes unimaginative and callous. We must hypothesize to grow, and mythology is all about our attempts to postulate explanations about what we do not know. Certainly, it is easy for the modern man to look backwards and criticize; but when modern man fails to issue contemporary explanations himself, within a modern context, he is ceasing to evolve, quitting the process of explanation, and turning his back on what it means to be alive, which is the delusion of the atheist.
The Case For Intelligent Design
Religion has existed as long as man has existed and it would be dangerous to suddenly jettison it. There is an obvious experience of God that is innate to human existence, and we must continue to seek after and explore it.
In his book Parallel Worlds , Michio Kaku informs us that scientists have succeeded in teleporting a virus. A result of that event should be to turn every atheist into at least an agnostic, if not a full believer. If a virus can be teleported here from distant space, then the entirety of life on this planet could be the creation of a Teleporter who builds and manipulates life forms here from afar, with viral building blocks. If you think this is far-fetched then read more about viruses and you will learn that viruses are like mechanical fragments designed to permeate and manipulate the inner workings of life forms.
DNA produces electromagnetic signals that are measurable when highly diluted in water. This signal can allegedly be recorded, transmitted electronically, and re-emitted on another distant pure water sample, where the DNA can then replicate thorough polymerase chain reaction. A related concept, known as “water memory”, is the ability of water to retain a memory of substances previously dissolved in it, even after no molecule of the original substance remains in the water. The process was demonstrated in experiments by Jacques Benveniste in 1988.
It is quite interesting that Genesis begins with the implication that the oceans were preexistent. In verse 2 of chapter 1, it states that “at first all was darkness and God moved upon the face of the waters”. There is no reference to God creating the water. The implication is that water was a primordial molecule and the importance of the substance of water (living water) runs deeply throughout the entire Bible. Interestingly, the paucity of water in the cosmos confounds modern astrophysicists, as they search for other exoplanets.
String theory tells us that, if we had a microscope sufficient to peer into the heart of an electron, we would see that it is not a point particle at all, but rather a tiny, little, vibrating string, which vibrates at different frequencies and resonances. If we pluck the string, it changes into a different subatomic particle such as a quark, neutrino, etc. Thus, the range of subatomic particles may be viewed like musical notes given off by a string. Because the note plucked upon a string, like a lyre, corresponds to its length, the laws of music can be reduced to mathematics; and in this way the harmony of order may be observed in the creation.
One reason we can’t see other dimensions is because they are so small that nothing can get inside them. One can imagine a gigantic alien scientist viewing us through an advanced microscope, of humongous proportions, perhaps trying to communicate with us by causing crop circles in our midsts. Such a concept of dimensions was approached well by C. S. Lewis, in his work The Great Divorce .
The Virtues in Mythology
Imagination and creativity are vital components of human self-expression. In a sense, we all become part of our own myths. To cancel out this way of corralling our uncertainties is to give in to a pessimistic, fatalistic outlook. We must always be attempting to explain ourselves and wonder at the ineffable reality of our existence. Failing to do so turns us into the bitter character of the atheist, who lashes out at the ideas of others because he has refused to hold any of his own. Unlike the protagonists in Sartre’s novel Nausea or Camus’ The Stranger , we must do more than merely exist.
We must speculate, inquire, hypothesize, and go about the business of figuring things out, which is truly our purpose. Advancing our species requires the sort of speculation that first forms in mythology and often appears juvenile to subsequent generations who live in more advanced times. However, subsequent generations have the task of taking whatever good they may find in their religious inheritance and refashioning it as necessary, in contemporary form. This is how religion evolves and how mankind advances, albeit slowly. But to throw up one’s hands to the void, as does the atheist, is to stall the evolving and creative advances that occur through religious speculation.
Some people, particularly atheists, just don’t see what others see. Some see the beauty of a tree while others see it as just a green thing in the way. Similarly, a spirit or vision is something that not everyone sees. The ones who do see these things must govern themselves against laughing at the arrogant pretenses of the blind and ignorant. Rather, one must seek techniques to help others see. One effective way of doing this is through the use of parables. A story does not have to be literally true in order to convey an important moral truth.
When spiritual perception is denied or downgraded, society becomes prey to generalizing and commercial forces that destroy imagination and art. Just as people feared sharing their political ideas during the era of McCarthy, so they will similarly become religiously taciturn when chastised and poked fun of, as this author does.
Jealousy, Forgiveness, and Passive Resistance
The student of Christian history must eventually come to wonder how much of orthodoxy came about as a result of jealousy. Certainly, there was fierce competition among the early church fathers to secure congregations and dominate the prevalent religious conceptualizations. Much of what is today recognized as orthodoxy was written in refutation of popular Gnostic beliefs. The eventual hijacking of Christianity by the Roman government occurred because of the power Christianity promised for controlling the masses; and the more obvious reason that the Roman slaughtering of Christians did nothing to extinguish Christianity. The Romans, like many fundamentalists of today, missed the essential messages of Jesus, as they relate to forgiveness and passive resistance.
The Old Testament reflects historical “do’s and don’t’s”, as were deemed necessary to maintain a wholesome and unified society. Prohibitions, such as those against adultery, were used to help diminish internal social conflicts. But Jesus brought forth the idea of forgiveness and the question of whether an adulteress should be stoned to death simply because she acquiesced to the amazing pleasure of love. It was suddenly realized that it was not the sin of the adulteress that was instigating the stoning; but rather the evil jealousies of those that resented and secretly coveted such relationships for themselves. The ones who would hurl the stones are those subconsciously jealous because the victim dared to express her love; and in so doing they suppress love, turn it into a caged taboo, and allow its expression only under the confines of obligatory marriage which was, in most cases of the time, arranged without the woman’s consent.
Jesus taught that evils, like jealously, are defeated by forgiveness and love. What judgmental people perceive as a transgression may in fact be a necessary event in the life pilgrimage of the transgressor, a needed life experience for growth and understanding. We must personally endure our sins, errors, and transgressions in this life until we grow to the point where we can cast them aside like a garment. We must not let one evil propagate itself into another far greater evil, as exemplified by those who become murderers by hurling judgmental stones. The same applies to this author, who hurls his words of disdain at the religious, failing to realize that such ones are only seeking their way in a world of uncertainty.
Instead of making fun of the misguided fundamentalist, we must patiently endeavor to engage in the sort of dialect that will slowly awaken him. We must stop the verbal stoning in recognition that we are all infected to some degree by religious indoctrination (“let he who is without religious indoctrinations be the first to cast their verbal stone at the fundamentalist”). We are all infused with mythologies that have been bestowed upon us since childhood and we are all climbing forward out of them. Kicking and clawing at those who are a little lower on the ladder is diabolical.
Humanity has been unsuccessful in developing a religion exclusively devoted to the purity of love. All religions get saddled with strict rules, regulations, rituals, and doctrines which become the primary focus of the adherents instead of love. In fact, many of these regulations actually prohibit or restrict lovemaking. Because of these regulations, jealousy becomes more powerful and jealous people applaud the restrictions that keep others confined, raising their eyebrows at every wayward hug, cheek kiss, or even the mere lingering of a male and female in close proximity.
CONTINUED IN COMMENT SECTION BELOW
A Bit About Real Viruses
The virosphere is all about us: in the oceans, in bacteria, in plants, in the air we breathe, etc. There are hundreds of viruses within our own bodies that are still unidentified. Most viruses are 100 to 500 times smaller than bacteria.
It is debatable as to whether or not viruses are living things because they cannot reproduce on their own and seem to be mechanical in nature. By entering a living cell, viruses hijack the cells reproductive system to manufacture replicas of itself. The most successful viruses are those that have learned to live symbiotically with the host so that the host can remain alive to sustain the virus and spread infection. Viruses that kill their hosts quickly generally die away because they fail to infect other hosts fast enough.
As this author is quick to point out, viruses have also evolved ways of manipulating human beings to facilitate their transmission. The most basic of these manipulative techniques cause projections of bodily fluids that may be ingested by other hosts, such as sneezing, vomiting, or diarrhea. But, as the author recognizes, more profound transmission strategies exist. For example, the rabies virus encourages the infected to attack or bite another host. The author also cites the parasite toxiplasma gondii which somehow makes a mouse actively seek to be eaten by a cat, because toxiplasma gondii can only reproduce inside a cat. Similarly, the lancet fluke infects an ant and drives it up a grass blade so that it will be ingested into a cow.
Virologists speculate that many human functions, such as our sex drive, reproductive ability, cravings, etc. may have in fact evolved as a result of viral transmissions. In fact, viruses are much like building blocks, mutating constantly; and they are likely the catalyst for evolution in all life forms. The similarity between the entry of sperm into the female egg is remarkably similar to the intrusion of viruses into human cells.
Ideas Are Not Viruses
So, as anyone can see, this author’s whole idea of singularly equating religion to viruses is myopic because a similar contention can be made for any prolific idea. Examples include, a sudden prevalence of a particular fashion, such as bell-bottomed pants, a popular television series, sports team fanaticism, gang membership, or even attending a popular destination such as Disneyland. A reader can just as easily imagine this author equating vacations to Disneyland as some sort of pilgrimage because vacationers have been infected with the Disney virus. Or, imagine the author attributing the sudden desire of many people to wear bell bottom pants as infection by the bell-bottomed virus. Such absurdities haunt this book from start to finish.
The author’s analogy is obtusely restricted to religion while in fact all human ideas are similarly transmitted, some catching on, like Protestantism, social fads, the Enlightenment, etc. and others remaining latent. And, like real viruses, ideas evolve in time. This author would seemingly have us eradicate all religious ideas as an impatient remedy for the world’s problems, but that would simply thwart the evolutionary process. Without the process of formulating and tweaking our ideas, we would quickly revert back to an animalistic or primitive state, trusting only instincts for guidance.
While innate instincts may have initially evolved to facilitate the needs of invasive microbes, human beings are unique from other animals in the sense that they have some ability to resist instinctual actions. Our gut may be telling us to eat but if we are dieting we may resist eating. We may be motivated to have sex but the risk of effectuating a pregnancy may cause us to abstain. Our bones may be telling us to relax but we may labor instead for a future good, such as in planting fields or hunting.
Of course, humans do often develop wrong ideas and often endeavor to project wrong ideas upon others. The human being is a programmable life form that learns from its environment and imagines things as a result of the stimulus it receives from its surroundings. Past ideals such as racial prejudice, an earth centric universe, or McCarthyism, are prime examples of prevalent, yet inimical ideas. Not dissimilarly, this author endeavors to project the nihilistic ideas of atheism.
When other people refute inimical ideas, a dialectical exchange can result, from which there may emerge a synthesis of new revelation. We eventually learn that all races can make valuable contributions to humanity, that the earth revolves around the sun, and that every liberal is not communist. We solve problems by posing hypotheses and trying them out. Often, we have to learn the hard way that certain ideas are wrong, but we do learn. Just as species evolve, so our ideas evolve, including those pertaining to religion.
“To Be” or “Not to Be”, Open Minded
We can look back and examine our past mistakes, as this author does in his examination of organized religion, but we must do so fairly, looking at all angles, examining both the positive and the negative; because when we become totally one-sided, we eliminate dialectical exchange, and thereby stymie the evolutionary process. This author presents a totally biased attack against religion. One example is the author’s comparison of religious benefits to the taking of a “placebo pill”, without any endeavor to explore why a placebo pill is effective. A placebo works because the patient has faith that it will work, and the same sort of faith occurs within religions. The author’s energies should be focused upon exploring why this mysterious faith is effective instead of denigrating it as he does.
Certainly, there have been and are many religious errors, but there have also been many effective religious ministries. The author’s critique of organized religion is like criticizing a primitive man for not having telephones and televisions. The author is impatient for evolution to take its course, failing to recognize that half of the human population is below average intelligence and most have little education. Most people rise daily to seek shelter, sustenance, rest, and pleasure, with very little thought about spiritual matters. People may move through the motions of religious ceremony because of peer pressure, but they spend little time actually formulating their individual belief systems.
It is the few that carry us forward, those bold enough to speculate: that the earth is round, that a heliocentric solar system exists, that God is an enduring fire of unfathomable energy, that parallel universes exist, that the sprits of the dead float about us, that dreams deserve analyses, that a spectrum of innate ideas are available to those who meditate, etc. It is nothing short of horror to reject all of this in favor of the atheistic god, which is the void of non-existence. To do so is anti-human because it amounts to an extinguishing of the imagination.
By the middle of this book, the author has become so redundant in his criticisms that the reader is tempted to abandon the reading altogether. And, indeed the author expects that the believer will have abandoned the reading by this point, because he shifts perspectives and starts narrating as to a group of convinced atheists, offering advice on how to avoid religious indoctrination, persuade unbelievers, and how to “come out” with one’s atheism.
Everyone is indoctrinated with something. As we live, we ingest information from our environment and process it mentally. This is called “living our lives” and it is not something that can be easily jettisoned in favor of the void. To make oneself immune to surrounding influences is to withdraw from life. Because we are not omnipotent, we simply do not know everything, and we cannot prove everything; but that doesn’t mean we must disbelieve everything.
One who limits their intake to only what has been proven becomes unimaginative and callous. We must hypothesize to grow, and mythology is all about our attempts to postulate explanations about what we do not know. Certainly, it is easy for the modern man to look backwards and criticize; but when modern man fails to issue contemporary explanations himself, within a modern context, he is ceasing to evolve, quitting the process of explanation, and turning his back on what it means to be alive, which is the delusion of the atheist.
The Case For Intelligent Design
Religion has existed as long as man has existed and it would be dangerous to suddenly jettison it. There is an obvious experience of God that is innate to human existence, and we must continue to seek after and explore it.
In his book Parallel Worlds , Michio Kaku informs us that scientists have succeeded in teleporting a virus. A result of that event should be to turn every atheist into at least an agnostic, if not a full believer. If a virus can be teleported here from distant space, then the entirety of life on this planet could be the creation of a Teleporter who builds and manipulates life forms here from afar, with viral building blocks. If you think this is far-fetched then read more about viruses and you will learn that viruses are like mechanical fragments designed to permeate and manipulate the inner workings of life forms.
DNA produces electromagnetic signals that are measurable when highly diluted in water. This signal can allegedly be recorded, transmitted electronically, and re-emitted on another distant pure water sample, where the DNA can then replicate thorough polymerase chain reaction. A related concept, known as “water memory”, is the ability of water to retain a memory of substances previously dissolved in it, even after no molecule of the original substance remains in the water. The process was demonstrated in experiments by Jacques Benveniste in 1988.
It is quite interesting that Genesis begins with the implication that the oceans were preexistent. In verse 2 of chapter 1, it states that “at first all was darkness and God moved upon the face of the waters”. There is no reference to God creating the water. The implication is that water was a primordial molecule and the importance of the substance of water (living water) runs deeply throughout the entire Bible. Interestingly, the paucity of water in the cosmos confounds modern astrophysicists, as they search for other exoplanets.
String theory tells us that, if we had a microscope sufficient to peer into the heart of an electron, we would see that it is not a point particle at all, but rather a tiny, little, vibrating string, which vibrates at different frequencies and resonances. If we pluck the string, it changes into a different subatomic particle such as a quark, neutrino, etc. Thus, the range of subatomic particles may be viewed like musical notes given off by a string. Because the note plucked upon a string, like a lyre, corresponds to its length, the laws of music can be reduced to mathematics; and in this way the harmony of order may be observed in the creation.
One reason we can’t see other dimensions is because they are so small that nothing can get inside them. One can imagine a gigantic alien scientist viewing us through an advanced microscope, of humongous proportions, perhaps trying to communicate with us by causing crop circles in our midsts. Such a concept of dimensions was approached well by C. S. Lewis, in his work The Great Divorce .
The Virtues in Mythology
Imagination and creativity are vital components of human self-expression. In a sense, we all become part of our own myths. To cancel out this way of corralling our uncertainties is to give in to a pessimistic, fatalistic outlook. We must always be attempting to explain ourselves and wonder at the ineffable reality of our existence. Failing to do so turns us into the bitter character of the atheist, who lashes out at the ideas of others because he has refused to hold any of his own. Unlike the protagonists in Sartre’s novel Nausea or Camus’ The Stranger , we must do more than merely exist.
We must speculate, inquire, hypothesize, and go about the business of figuring things out, which is truly our purpose. Advancing our species requires the sort of speculation that first forms in mythology and often appears juvenile to subsequent generations who live in more advanced times. However, subsequent generations have the task of taking whatever good they may find in their religious inheritance and refashioning it as necessary, in contemporary form. This is how religion evolves and how mankind advances, albeit slowly. But to throw up one’s hands to the void, as does the atheist, is to stall the evolving and creative advances that occur through religious speculation.
Some people, particularly atheists, just don’t see what others see. Some see the beauty of a tree while others see it as just a green thing in the way. Similarly, a spirit or vision is something that not everyone sees. The ones who do see these things must govern themselves against laughing at the arrogant pretenses of the blind and ignorant. Rather, one must seek techniques to help others see. One effective way of doing this is through the use of parables. A story does not have to be literally true in order to convey an important moral truth.
When spiritual perception is denied or downgraded, society becomes prey to generalizing and commercial forces that destroy imagination and art. Just as people feared sharing their political ideas during the era of McCarthy, so they will similarly become religiously taciturn when chastised and poked fun of, as this author does.
Jealousy, Forgiveness, and Passive Resistance
The student of Christian history must eventually come to wonder how much of orthodoxy came about as a result of jealousy. Certainly, there was fierce competition among the early church fathers to secure congregations and dominate the prevalent religious conceptualizations. Much of what is today recognized as orthodoxy was written in refutation of popular Gnostic beliefs. The eventual hijacking of Christianity by the Roman government occurred because of the power Christianity promised for controlling the masses; and the more obvious reason that the Roman slaughtering of Christians did nothing to extinguish Christianity. The Romans, like many fundamentalists of today, missed the essential messages of Jesus, as they relate to forgiveness and passive resistance.
The Old Testament reflects historical “do’s and don’t’s”, as were deemed necessary to maintain a wholesome and unified society. Prohibitions, such as those against adultery, were used to help diminish internal social conflicts. But Jesus brought forth the idea of forgiveness and the question of whether an adulteress should be stoned to death simply because she acquiesced to the amazing pleasure of love. It was suddenly realized that it was not the sin of the adulteress that was instigating the stoning; but rather the evil jealousies of those that resented and secretly coveted such relationships for themselves. The ones who would hurl the stones are those subconsciously jealous because the victim dared to express her love; and in so doing they suppress love, turn it into a caged taboo, and allow its expression only under the confines of obligatory marriage which was, in most cases of the time, arranged without the woman’s consent.
Jesus taught that evils, like jealously, are defeated by forgiveness and love. What judgmental people perceive as a transgression may in fact be a necessary event in the life pilgrimage of the transgressor, a needed life experience for growth and understanding. We must personally endure our sins, errors, and transgressions in this life until we grow to the point where we can cast them aside like a garment. We must not let one evil propagate itself into another far greater evil, as exemplified by those who become murderers by hurling judgmental stones. The same applies to this author, who hurls his words of disdain at the religious, failing to realize that such ones are only seeking their way in a world of uncertainty.
Instead of making fun of the misguided fundamentalist, we must patiently endeavor to engage in the sort of dialect that will slowly awaken him. We must stop the verbal stoning in recognition that we are all infected to some degree by religious indoctrination (“let he who is without religious indoctrinations be the first to cast their verbal stone at the fundamentalist”). We are all infused with mythologies that have been bestowed upon us since childhood and we are all climbing forward out of them. Kicking and clawing at those who are a little lower on the ladder is diabolical.
Humanity has been unsuccessful in developing a religion exclusively devoted to the purity of love. All religions get saddled with strict rules, regulations, rituals, and doctrines which become the primary focus of the adherents instead of love. In fact, many of these regulations actually prohibit or restrict lovemaking. Because of these regulations, jealousy becomes more powerful and jealous people applaud the restrictions that keep others confined, raising their eyebrows at every wayward hug, cheek kiss, or even the mere lingering of a male and female in close proximity.
CONTINUED IN COMMENT SECTION BELOW
June 5, 2015
Full disclosure, I am a practicing Catholic. I am also an avid student of world history, world religions and ideologies, and science.
I did not find this book to be a good representation of the atheist view point. I would not recommend this book for anyone who wants to get a balanced view of the atheist argument. It had several flaws. First, the vitriol of the author is very evident. Obviously this gentleman had a painful upbringing and is emotionally scarred from his experience. He depends too heavily on religious stereotypes and his personal negative experience. Like other reviewers, I feel that he takes the analogy of a viral infection too far. Instead of being a clever way to explain how religious ideas spread, he hurts his own argument. It is also obvious the author has a poor grasp of world history, world religions, and even how to understand scientific studies. I'm actually surprised his editors/publishers allowed so many errors to stand.
After reading his book, I explored his website, facebook page, and several pod casts. I had hoped the book I read was just a bad example of his work. After additional reading, I feel that this book is very representative of his work. Personally I think there are much better book out there for atheism.
I did not find this book to be a good representation of the atheist view point. I would not recommend this book for anyone who wants to get a balanced view of the atheist argument. It had several flaws. First, the vitriol of the author is very evident. Obviously this gentleman had a painful upbringing and is emotionally scarred from his experience. He depends too heavily on religious stereotypes and his personal negative experience. Like other reviewers, I feel that he takes the analogy of a viral infection too far. Instead of being a clever way to explain how religious ideas spread, he hurts his own argument. It is also obvious the author has a poor grasp of world history, world religions, and even how to understand scientific studies. I'm actually surprised his editors/publishers allowed so many errors to stand.
After reading his book, I explored his website, facebook page, and several pod casts. I had hoped the book I read was just a bad example of his work. After additional reading, I feel that this book is very representative of his work. Personally I think there are much better book out there for atheism.
September 2, 2014
it was really nice and good for a change to read for someone who isn't considered a militant atheist, although the title might mislead you to think it another angry atheist book like "the god delusion" or "God is not great" (which I liked by the way) but once you dive into the authors thoughts and ideas in the book you will realize he is not angry at all.
actually chapter 9 was such an eye opener on how to deal with religious people (specially if the majority of the society are) and I just regret that I haven't read this a year ago, it would have saved me a lot of hatred and useless arguments with people who now consider me the enemy.
I enjoyed the authors way of describing the symptoms of a religious person and how it is similar to an infected host of a virus. it made a lot of sense.
one of the very few books that I can recommend reading it for a religious friend without fearing they might get offended.
actually chapter 9 was such an eye opener on how to deal with religious people (specially if the majority of the society are) and I just regret that I haven't read this a year ago, it would have saved me a lot of hatred and useless arguments with people who now consider me the enemy.
I enjoyed the authors way of describing the symptoms of a religious person and how it is similar to an infected host of a virus. it made a lot of sense.
one of the very few books that I can recommend reading it for a religious friend without fearing they might get offended.
March 24, 2016
Dr. Ray is an invaluable asset to the secular community. He brings up fantastic points about religion's infection of society and the ways that it subtly affects everyone, religious or not. My biggest problem with the book is that it read like a high schooler's essay. He's constantly bringing his point back to metaphors about viral infections, which, I get it, is the point of the book, but it just came off as childish. Every paragraph has a reference to the symbolism of an actual biological virus. It gets very repetitive and tiresome after awhile. It was not as well written as I had hoped for. The content is great, but the delivery was only so-so.
November 13, 2009
the book is full of excellent quotes and really gives a lot of good evidence of how pernicious and irrational are all religious activities - his comparison to a virus is valid but overdone and gets a bit tiring. Nonetheless, I found it a good book that further underscores the need for thinking people to reject everything about religion and furthermore, to stop giving religion a free pass as "it must be respected" - it should NOT - there is no reason to respect it and every reason to resent its intrusions into peoples lives and anit thinking.
May 19, 2012
Though already familiar with meme theory, I was surprised by the personal impact I felt in having my previous religious experiences explained in the terms of a viral infection. Most powerful for me was the freedom it gave me over the most painful experiences by separating myself and others from the religious virus we carried. Meme theory does not, of course, excuse hurtful behavior, but it does provide a means of both understanding and healing.
Admittedly, I did find the pacing a bit off, but I still rate the book as highly recommended.
Admittedly, I did find the pacing a bit off, but I still rate the book as highly recommended.
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