The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
Chronological starting point and foundation for Harris's writing on religion, reason, and secularism.
Author guide
Sam Harris Books in Order
Sam Harris is an American neuroscientist, philosopher, author, and public intellectual. His nonfiction examines religion, atheism, morality, free will, consciousness, meditation, and the future of humanity. He is also the host of the Making Sense podcast and creator of the Waking Up meditation app. His co-authored books include Islam and the Future of Tolerance with Maajid Nawaz and The Four Horsemen with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens.
nonfictionphilosophypopular scienceethicsreligionmeditationessays
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
Accessible introduction to his work on consciousness, meditation, and spirituality without religion.
Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity
Broad overview of his later thinking through conversations on consciousness, morality, politics, and humanity's future.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Essays and speeches (1)
- Lying
essay · 2011
"Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption--even murder and genocide--generally require an additional moral defect:…
Other (8)
- The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
book · 2004
A startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world, this historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify atrocities, asserts that in…
- Letter to a Christian Nation
book · 2006
From the new afterword by the author: Humanity has had a long fascination with blood sacrifice. In fact, it has been by no means uncommon for a child to be born into this world only to be patiently and lovingly reared by religious…
- The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values
book · 2010
Bestselling author Sam Harris dismantles the most common justification for religious faith—that a moral system cannot be based on science.
- Free Will
book · 2012
A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal…
- Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
book · 2014
For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Waking Up is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times…
- Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue
book · 2015
Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem to be drawn to extremism? And what do words like jihadism and fundamentalism really mean? In a world riven by misunderstanding and violence, Sam…
- The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution
book · 2019
In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett filmed a landmark discussion about modern atheism. The video went viral. Now in print for the first time, the transcript of their conversation is illuminated…
- Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity
book · 2020
A New York Times New and Noteworthy Book From the bestselling author of Waking Up and The End of Faith, an adaptation of his wildly popular, often controversial podcast "Civilization rests on a series of successful conversations." --Sam…
Frequently asked questions about Sam Harris
Who is Sam Harris?
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, philosopher, author, and public intellectual whose work examines neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation, human violence, and rationality.
Sources: samharris.org (opens in a new tab)samharris.substack.com (opens in a new tab)
What is Sam Harris’s academic background?
He earned a philosophy degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. His research included the neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief using functional MRI.
Sources: samharris.substack.com (opens in a new tab)journals.plos.org (opens in a new tab)
How did meditation influence Sam Harris’s work?
Harris has practiced meditation for more than 30 years and studied with Tibetan, Indian, Burmese, and Western teachers. He applies that background through Waking Up, a secular approach to mindfulness and wisdom.
Sources: help.wakingup.com (opens in a new tab)samharris.org (opens in a new tab)
What is Sam Harris best known for outside his writing?
He is best known as the host of the Making Sense podcast and the creator of the Waking Up meditation app. Making Sense explores questions about the human mind, society, and current events.
Sources: samharris.org (opens in a new tab)samharris.substack.com (opens in a new tab)
What major award did Sam Harris receive early in his career?
In 2005, Harris received the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction, which recognizes an American author’s distinguished first general nonfiction book.
Source: pen.org (opens in a new tab)