RELG120

After the tragedy of 9/11 several books appeared blaming the disaster on religion, e.g. The End of Faith by Sam Harris and God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. These authors argued that atheism was a better course for humanity and that if atheism were embraced, the primary cause of war would be eliminated. Other books appeared (e.g. The Case for God by Karen Armstrong) challenging the arguments of these authors who have come to be known as 'the new atheists'. The conversation sparked by this exchange will be the focus of this course. No prerequisites.