God and His Demons »

Michael Parenti (Berkeley, CA) is the acclaimed author of more than twenty books, including, most recently, Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader; The Assassination of Julius Caesar; and The Culture Struggle. The New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the New York Review of Books, Harper's, the Nation, and Antioch Review, are among the countless publications that have praised Parenti's work. For further information, visit his Web site: michaelparenti.org

"It's not God I have a problem with; it's his fan club."-Anonymous

Noted author and activist Michael Parenti brings his critical acumen and rhetorical skills to bear on the dark side of religion, from the many evils committed in the name of "holy causes" throughout history to the vast hypocrisies of its unworthy advocates past and present. Unlike some recent popular works by stridently outspoken atheists, this is not a blanket condemnation of all believers. Rather Parenti's focus is the heartless exploitation of faithful followers by those in power, as well as sectarian intolerance, the violence against heretics and nonbelievers, and the reactionary political and economic collusion that has often prevailed between the upper echelons of church and state.

Parenti delves into a wide and fascinating range of subjects:

• The harsh narratives of the Old and New Testaments, from the appalling accounts of violence, draconian justice, and moral turpitude in the older books of the Bible to the latent anti-Semitism in the New Testament.
• Creationism and intelligent design in both its laughably crude and sophisticated forms.
• The duplicities of gurus. Even such icons as Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, various US televangelists, the Dalai Lama, and Jesus himself are subjected to a revealing scrutiny.
• The hypocrisies of "family-values" religionists and politicos-the sexual predation and cover-up committed under the cloak of religion as well as their financial schemes and frauds.
• The totalitarian theocratic goals of Christian and Islamic extremists, and the Shangri-La myths about feudal Tibet.


Parenti notes thedeleterious effects of past theocracies and the threat to our freedoms posed by present-day fundamentalists and theocratic reactionaries. He discusses how socially conscious and egalitarian minded liberal religionists have often been isolated and marginalized by their more conservative (and better financed) coreligionists. Finally, he documents the growing strength of secular freethinkers who are doing battle against the intolerant theocratic usurpers in public life.

Historically anchored yet sharply focused on the contemporary scene, this eloquent indictment of religion's dangers will be welcomed by committed secular laypersons and progressive religionists alike.

Publishers Weekly

Anyone looking for a catalogue of religion’s darkest moments will find it in this angry volume by the Berkeley-based cultural critic and activist. A New Atheist in the mold of Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins, Parenti spares no adjectives in describing the evils of religion, be it creationism or televangelists. He claims he does not want to destroy other people’s beliefs and that his book is not addressed to religious progressives, whom he finds tolerable. But he writes about religion, whether Christianity or Islam, with unconcealed scorn and derision. Parenti makes no clear argument, nor does his polemic offer an introduction or conclusion. Instead it might be understood as a call to arms against what he calls “religionists” the world over. He complains that “progressive dissidents usually are denied access to mass media audiences,” a charge that might confound his publisher and the industry that has made leading New Atheists household names. His condescending tirade is directed not so much at religion as at human beings whom—one gets the impression—he can barely suffer. (Mar.)

Pt. I All in the Bible

1 Up from Heaven 11

2 The Great Exterminator 19

3 The Great Abominator 27

4 The Other Face of Our Sweet Savior 41

5 Who Killed Jesus and All Those Other Jews? 53

Pt. II Divine Design?

6 Working His Blunders in Mysterious Ways 65

7 Jiffy Creation, Dubious Design 75

Pt. III When the Ethereal Becomes Material

8 Mother Teresa, John Paul, and the Fast-Track Saints 89

9 Cashing In on Heaven 99

10 Moneyed Gurus and Cults 109

Pt. IV Hypocrites, Reactionaries, and Vipers

11 God, Left and Right 127

12 Pious Predators 139

13 Politicos and Other Pharisees 155

Pt. V Theocracy, Past, Present, And Future

14 Church in State 167

15 The Return of Totalitarian Theocracy 181

16 For Lords and Lamas 195

17 Good-bye Shangri-la 207

18 Secular Tolerance Rising? 215

Acknowledgments 223

Notes 225

Index 259

About the Author 281