Armstrong's thesis is that religion is not the cause of the world's violence now and throughout history, because up until the American and French revolutions there was no such thing as a secular society. She goes to painstaking lengths to discuss in detail the histories of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the list goes on -- and how it is not religion, but humanity and society and political motivations that are the true causes of war and hatred and terrorism. It is a fascinating study of history and religion and I learned so many incredible facts about history without feeling like I was reading a textbook. The book is very long, but it has to be to cover so much ground, and Armstrong does a great job of backing up her statements with facts and keeping the tone neutral. It was fascinating to see how religion was interwoven into the public lifestyles of people for millennia.