The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling non-fiction book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, professorial fellow of New College, Oxford,[1][2] and inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford.


In The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. He is sympathetic to Robert Pirsig's observation in Lila that "when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion."[3]

As of January 2010, the English version of The God Delusion had sold over 2 million copies.[4] It was ranked #2 on the Amazon.com bestsellers' list in November 2006.[5][6] In early December 2006, it reached #4 in the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Best Seller list after nine weeks on the list.[7] It remained on the list for 51 weeks until 30 September 2007.[8] It has attracted widespread commentary, with many books written in response.
Contents
[hide]