Name: The Root of All Evil?
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2006-01-08
Rating: 4.5

Overview

The Root of All Evil?, later retitled The God Delusion, is a television documentary written and presented by Richard Dawkins in which he argues that humanity would be better off without religion or belief in God. The documentary was first broadcast in January 2006, in the form of two 45-minute episodes, on Channel 4 in the UK. Dawkins has said that the title The Root of All Evil? was not his preferred choice, but that Channel 4 had insisted on it to create controversy. The sole concession from the producers on the title was the addition of the question mark. Dawkins has stated that the notion of anything being the root of all evil is ridiculous. Dawkins' book The God Delusion, released in September 2006, goes on to examine the topics raised in the documentary in greater detail. The documentary was rebroadcast on the More4 channel on the 25 August 2010 under the title of The God Delusion.

Seasons

Season 1

2 Episodes

2006

E01

The God Delusion

1/8/2006

The God Delusion explores the unproven beliefs that are treated as factual by many religions and the extremes to which some followers have taken them. Dawkins opens the programme by describing the "would-be murderers . . . who want to kill you and me, and themselves, because they're motivated by what they think is the highest ideal." Dawkins argues that "the process of non-thinking called faith" is not a way of understanding the world, but instead stands in fundamental opposition to modern science and the scientific method, and is divisive and dangerous.

E02

The Virus of Faith

1/15/2006

In The Virus of Faith, Dawkins opines that the moral framework of religions is warped, and argues against the religious indoctrination of children. The title of this episode comes from The Selfish Gene, in which Dawkins discussed the concept of memes.

Season 2

8 Episodes

E01

Jill Mytton

Eight uncut and never before seen interviews filmed for the Root of All Evil? documentary Nine months before the release of his million-copy bestseller The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins had the world buzzing with his television documentary Root of All Evil? The 2-hour program highlights the dangers of faith and religion in the 21st century, and asks people of reason to say “Enough is enough!” During the filming, Richard Dawkins conducted many fascinating interviews with people from around the world. Unfortunately much of this footage was cut for time, and some entire interviews were omitted. This DVD collection showcases eight raw and uncut interviews from the original tapes, allowing the viewer a rare vantage point into these revealing exchanges.

E02