The God Delusion
Richard Dawkins's 2006 argument that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist.
At a glance
Key ideas
The God Hypothesis, Who designed the designer?, Religion as a by-product …
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- Dawkins argues that God does not exist and that belief in a personal god is a delusion, a persistent false belief held against strong contrary evidence.
- The first chapters argue that there is almost certainly no God; the rest discuss religion and morality.
- He argues that morality can exist independently of religion and offers other explanations for where both come from.
- He criticises the religious teaching of children as indoctrination.
Why it matters
- It is Dawkins's most popular book and is identified with the rise of New Atheism; many books were written in response to it.
Key facts
- Author
- Richard Dawkins1
- Published
- 2006, Bantam Press (hardcover)1
- Later editions
- Paperback with a new preface, Black Swan, 2007; 10th-anniversary edition with an afterword by Daniel Dennett, Black Swan, 20161
- Translations
- 35 languages1
- Sales
- More than three million copies as of 20152
- Awards
- Author of the Year, British Book Awards 2007; Deschner Prize 20071
Key ideas
-
The God Hypothesis1
Whether an interventionist God exists is a scientific fact about the universe, discoverable in principle.
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Who designed the designer?1
A designer explains complexity only by positing something even more improbable; natural selection explains it instead.
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Religion as a by-product1
Religion is an accidental by-product of something useful in the mind, spread by cultural transmission like memes.
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Morality without God1
Morality has a Darwinian explanation, and a changing moral Zeitgeist shapes how believers read scripture.
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No "Catholic child"1
Children should not be labelled by their parents' religion.
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