The resurgence of religious violence at the start of the twenty-first century has reinforced the myth of secular tolerance—the notion that whereas religious believers are instinctively intolerant, tolerance comes naturally to the secular mind. This paper challenges the myth. It suggests that secular people are not immune from the temptation to persecute and vilify others, and argues that the Christian Gospel fostered the rise of religious

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Many a doctoral student might identify with Thomas Bunting, the central character of James Wood’s provocative novel, The Book Against God. Seven years into his philosophy Ph.D., Bunting is brought to a standstill by his failing marriage, his inability to tell the truth (he is separated from his pianist wife until she is satisfied that he has stopped lying), his unemployment, and his side project—an enormous atheistic journal known as the BAG, the

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