Description
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris examines the conflict between religious faith and reason in the modern world. Harris argues that the willingness to accept religious beliefs without rational evidence can have serious consequences, particularly when those beliefs contribute to intolerance, violence and political conflict. He traces the historical relationship between faith and human behaviour and questions the assumption that religious belief should be protected from the same scrutiny applied to other claims about the world.
Drawing on philosophy, neuroscience and Eastern mysticism, Harris also considers morality, spirituality and the possibility of developing an ethical framework that does not depend on religious doctrine. His argument is not simply that religion should be rejected, but that society needs a more rational and secular approach to questions of morality and human wellbeing. First published in 2004, The End of Faith became an influential and controversial work in debates about religion, atheism and secular humanism, and won the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for Nonfiction.
