Religion, said Bertrand Russell, is “a disease born of fear and a source of untold misery to the human race.” Russell’s opinion has gained wide currency as the perception that Western Civilization is passing into a post-Christian phase gains hold. For the secular mind, this change to a post-Christian world can’t happen too soon. Religion to the secularist is a barbaric superstition, and a dangerous one, that tends to drive its most fervent adherents to violent acts. Proof of this, for those who hold this view, is found in the terrorist attacks perpetrated by zealots, like Osama bin Laden and...