ABSTRACT
A common theme in the writings of New Atheists is that human beings would be better off without religion. Religion has done a tremendous amount of damage to our well-being. Whatever good it has fostered can also be achieved by secular ways of thinking. Therefore, in order to make people better off, we should jettison religion and religious belief in all its various forms. Call this general line of reasoning the religious harms argument.
Miller explores this argument in some detail. Although everyone can agree that people acting in the name of their religion have done serious harms throughout history, Miller argues that there are important problems with the religious harms argument. Miller also argues that New Atheists have good reason to not support the elimination of certain forms of religious belief. Why? Precisely because these forms can make society better off.
