Liberated from Religion: The Inestimable Pleasure of Being a Freethinker - Paperback

by Paulo Bitencourt (Author)

"One of the most important books of our time, in view of the dizzying growth of Christian fundamentalism that undermines the separation of Church and State, an essential pillar of democracy and freedom of conscience." - C. Buarque

★★★★★ Passionate defense of reason. It is amazing to see the lucidity with which the author dissects this infectious disease called religion, exposing layer after layer of the corpse in the light of reason. It is stunning how he presents a staggering volume of facts without ever being dull, often even appealing to good humor. An inspiring and invigorating read. (A. P. Ferreira)

★★★★★ A bedside book. Paulo Bitencourt shows an argumentation of impeccable logic, well founded and rich in details and observations, only possible in a mind free of dogmatisms. His book is on the level of those of Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkings or Bertrand Russell: frank, provocative and libertarian. (J. di Salvo)

The book most hated by religions, creeds, beliefs, cults, dogmas, churches, rites, sects, abbots, apostles, archbishops, archdeacons, archimandrites, archpriests, astrologers, augurs, ayatollahs, babalawos, babalorishas, beati, bishops, canons, cardinals, chaplains, clerics, deacons, deans, devotees, divines, ecclesiastics, enchanters, enlightened ones, evangelists, faith healers, fortune tellers, friars, gurus, imams, magicians, mediums, missionaries, monks, monsignors, necromancers, nuncios, occultists, pastors, patriarchs, pontiffs, popes, preachers, prelates, presbyters, priests, primates, priors, prophets, protodeacons, rabbis, religious, reverends, seers, shamans, shamans, sorcerers, vicars, witch doctors and witches.

Despite the enormous expansion of knowledge, the great advances in Science (with our space probes exploring the boundaries of the Solar System) and all philosophical thought, 250 years after the Enlightenment, in the 21st century, billions of people still think it is indispensable to believe the primitivities of religions.

While the world religions despise each other, thousands of Christian denominations fight for the "The True One" title. Yet, in their combat against reason and in the imposition of their dogmatisms on all of society, they pretend unity and harmony.

As Islam becomes more and more radicalized, countries like Brazil have been the scene of a galloping increase in religious intolerance perpetrated by Pentecostals who seek to transform them into Evangelical theocracies.

Based on his personal experience with biblical literalism, Paulo Bitencourt takes a historical approach to Christian fundamentalism and exposes the fallacies of religious dogmas, the negative effects of suppressing critical thinking and the benefits that living without religion brings to the individual and, consequently, to the world.

Topics covered: Allah, Atheism, Bible, Christianity, Adventist, Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal Church, Communism, Devil, Evolution, Freethought, God, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, Islam, Jesus, Judaism, Mohammed, Philosophy, Protestantism, Satan, Science, Skepticism, Socialism, etc.

Paulo Bitencourt was born in Paraná, Brazil, spent his childhood in Rio de Janeiro, his youth in Paraná and studied Theology in São Paulo. Close to becoming a pastor, he moved to Europe, eventually settling in Austria. The book Ethics, by Bento de Espinosa (Baruch Spinoza), turned him into a naturalist, humanist and freethinker. Paulo Bitencourt dedicates his life to helping people liberate themselves from religion.

Paulo Bitencourt is the author also of the books Wasting Time on God: Why I Am an Atheist and Com Zeus Não Se Brinca: Loucuras da Crença em Deus (Zeus Is Not to Be Played With: Madnesses of the Belief in God).