Christopher Hitchens
Author & Journalist · 1949–2011
Hitchens is widely regarded as one of the most eloquent and entertaining critics of religion of his generation. His combative debating style, razor wit, and genuine erudition made him almost impossible to beat on stage — and captivating to watch even when you disagreed with him.
He held a career as a journalist in the United Kingdom and United States for decades, writing for Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and The Nation. As a committed anti-theist, he considered all religions false and harmful — and made the case more entertainingly than almost anyone.
His book God Is Not Great (2007) remains essential reading. Its subtitle — “How Religion Poisons Everything” — became one of the most quoted lines in modern atheism.
Anti-theism, not just atheism
Hitchens didn't merely disbelieve in God — he actively wished religion didn't exist. He considered theism false and its effects net harmful, and said so without apology.
Religion is morally dangerous
The core of his case was ethical, not just epistemological. Organized religion, he argued, has caused more suffering than it has alleviated — through violence, suppression, and the infantilization of its adherents.
Free thought is incompatible with revelation
Any book or authority that claims divine sanction demands submission rather than inquiry. The two stances — follow the evidence wherever it leads vs. accept what has been revealed — are fundamentally in tension.
The Enlightenment is worth defending
Reason, science, and civil liberty are historically recent achievements that must be actively protected. Hitchens saw religious influence in public life as a direct threat to those achievements.
What is it you most want — what is it you most want? It is that there should be an authority who could guarantee you would never have to die, never, ever have to die, and that your sufferings in this life would be rewarded in the next. That you would be safe. That there would be guaranteed safety for you. And that's the offer that religion makes: safety, at the cost of everything that's interesting about being human.
What is a “Hitchslap”?
The term — coined on Urban Dictionary — describes the moment Hitchens concisely dismantles an opponent’s argument, often in a single devastating sentence. His debates are full of them. See the debates page for the best examples.
Essential books
Battle with cancer
In 2010, while on a book tour, Hitchens suffered a health crisis that led to a diagnosis of esophageal cancer. He continued writing and giving interviews throughout his treatment — reflecting on mortality and religion with characteristic clarity. He passed away on December 15, 2011, at age 62.
Best quotes
“Gullibility and credulity are considered undesirable qualities in every department of human life — except religion.”
“Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.”
“What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.”
“The gods that we've made are exactly the gods you'd expect to be made by a species that's about half a chromosome away from being chimpanzee.”
“I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I think that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful.”
“Human beings are not so constituted as to be comfortable with the idea that they are mere objects of creation — they require some illusion of participation in their own fate.”
Continue exploring
Watch the best debates
Hitchens features in several debates on our curated list.
Sam Harris
Fellow Horseman and author of The End of Faith.
Richard Dawkins
Evolutionary biologist, author of The God Delusion.
Quotes & criticisms
More great lines from Hitchens and others, collected in one place.
Religion and societal harm
Religion and societal harm — Hitchens's core case.