Review
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“An important and fascinating book. For more than a
decade, Paul Offit has been relentless in his exposure of forces
that can undermine the life-saving advances of modern medicine.
His latest effort, Bad Faith, combines gripping storytelling with
an insider's knowledge. Offit offers a compassionate and
clear-headed take on religion that puts children's well-being
where it should be: at the center of the discussion. A must-read
for anyone interested in the challenges of public in the
twenty-first century.”
—Seth Mnookin, Associate Director of The Graduate Program in
Science Writing, MIT, and author of The Panic Virus: The True
Story Behind the Vaccine-Autism Controversy
PRAISE FOR BAD FAITH:
One of Library Journal's “Best Core Nonfiction” books of 2015
“Gripping.... With Bad Faith, perhaps even more than with his
previous books, Dr. Offit is probably preaching only to the
choir. That doesn't make his message any less important.”
—New York Times, Science Times
“Offit must be commended for the detachment and gentleness with
which he treats his subjects, who comprise both the faith healers
and the parents of children who have died because they failed to
receive life-saving medical procedures...He treads a careful path
through exposing the wretchedness caused by religion, while not
simply applauding secularism as the remedy.”
—Times Higher Education Supplement
“But even allowing for the positive role of religion in aiding
the afflicted, one can only hope that...books like Bad Faith will
eventually bring about legislation that eliminates religious
exemption for medical neglect of a child.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Offit nobly endeavours to make peace with religion as concept,
while simultaneously lambasting its more blinkered, potentially
dangerous practitioners.
—Globe & Mail
“Paul Offit…is one of the most courageous and sober voices
arguing to protect children from exemptions made by their
parents.”
—New York Review of Books
“Offit is unflinching in his examination of the lethal costs of
belief taken to irrational extremes.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A thought-provoking discussion of the conflict between society's
right to protect all children and the constitutional guarantee of
religious freedom.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Offit makes a convincing case that these actions are contrary to
the very best aspects inherent in religious beliefs.”
—Muses & Visionaries
“This is a brave examination of the unhappy borderlands where
religious beliefs battle—often tragically—against the imperatives
of medical care and public ; packed with fascinating
stories of the most tortured meetings of medical practice and
religious practice, but also allowing glimpses of good faith and
medical hope.”
—Perri Klass, M.D., Director, Arthur L. Carter Institute of
Journalism, New York University and author of Kind and
Fair
“No physician today writes with more passion and courage about
the impact of quackery, zealotry, hucksterism, and bad science
upon the of our children than Paul Offit. Bad Faith is
another superb example, exposing the dangers of religious
extremism in denying basic and life-saving medical care to the
most vulnerable among us. This is no screed against religion, far
from it. Deeply moving, elegantly written, Bad Faith brilliantly
exposes the harm done by belief systems gone awry.”
—David Oshinsky, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Polio: An
American Story and Director, Division of Medical Humanities, New
York University Medical School
“The medical system may function, in many ways, like an
organized religion, but Paul Offit is not asking us to abandon
God for doctors. Nor is he arguing that faith is bad. His premise
here is that both medicine and religion, at their best, hold
human life sacred.”
—Eula Biss, author of On : An Inoculation
“Honest and fair, Bad Faith fails to leave any stone
unturned—whether it be why faith-healing groups continue to
promote these practices or roots of the religious theories
against modern science. Regardless of your faith, this is a
fabulous book that's well worth the read.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
“Using actual case histories to illustrate the needless suffering
and deaths that occur as a result of these methods, Offit
masterfully points out that the denial of medicine in the name of
religion actually rejects the basic teaching of religious faith:
relieving suffering, providing hope, and treating others as one
would wish to be treated. An excellent book with an important
message that belongs in all library collections.
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A clear-eyed, sometimes terrifying look at how religious belief
has been used, both historically and in contemporary contexts, to
undermine modern medicine.”
—Kirkus Reviews (feature interview)
“A must read for anyone who seeks to understand the tangled
relationship between religion and medicine in America.”
— of Prevention
“This book should be read by anyone who deals with children,
parents, medicine, or religion…Read the book. Make up your own
mind about the religious aspect of it. But get the kids to the
doctor.”
—Skeptic Ink
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About the Author
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Paul A. Offit, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division
of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The author of several books,
he lives in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
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