Why I Am Not a Christian

In 1927, Bertrand Russell delivered his lecture “Why I Am Not a Christian” to the South London branch of the National Secular Society. The lecture was soon considered one of his most noteworthy writings, and it was included in the selection of his work that won him the Nobel Prize in Literature. In his lecture, Russell is deeply critical of the Christian Church and presses for a kinder and more intellectually curious society to replace the one steeped in fearmongering Christianity. He places great importance on Societal Progress, and this becomes a major theme throughout the lecture text. In his mind, Christianity is too full of hypocrisy and anti-progressive beliefs to have a place in modern society. Although his arguments are closely tied to the British society of his time, many are still relevant and important in today’s conversations about Christianity and morality.

One of the arguments that Russell returns to throughout the lecture is how the Church commonly equates being a Christian with being morally good. He knows that, as a holdover from the staunchly religious Victorian era, being called a Christian had become a common way of referring to someone who aims to be moral and live a good life.