The God Virus

I’m about to finish reading The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture by Darrel W. Ray. It’s been quite a trip. He maintains the metaphor of religion as a virus throughout, using terminology such as “vector” for priests, rabbis, ministers and imams, “virus/viral” for religion/religious, and “infected” as a term for those who have been convinced and converted to religion.

I had never considered things in these terms, but the metaphor seems to work well. Religions spread in the same way that viruses replicate, going through mutations and competition, lying dormant and making an appearance when confronted by the right combination of factors, etc.

I’m fascinated by the book and just wanted to share it with you.