Response to Stephen Fry - Life Without a Religious Faith Must Be Hell on Earth

I wrote an article recently about monotheism and why I believe we Catholics are in danger of becoming obsessed with the concept which originated with the Jews.*

While researching this subject I found that not only do many other faiths worship more than one god but the idea of many gods even appeals to some atheists, believe it or not. Being an atheist is the easiest way out of facing up to the issue of why we are on this earth but for me being an atheist who is also a pantheist is the ultimate copout. 

I was struck by a television interview with a smug English “celebrity” called Stephen Fry who lambasted our God for doing nothing to stop misery, disease and all the other adversities that plague our lives. He felt he would be happier with the gods of Ancient Greece who were human like us!

He said something like, ”The Greeks didn´t pretend not to be human… They didn’t present themselves to be all seeing, all wise, all knowing, all beneficial. Because the God who created the universe, if it was created by a god, is quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish. We have to spend our lives on our knees thanking him. What kind of God would do that?”

The interviewer then asked him what he would say if he met God when he died. Fry, a product of the English upper classes who should know how to address his betters, threw etiquette out of the window and said, “How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault. It's not right. It's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?”

I wonder how our “stupid” God would react to this ticking off. Would he apologize to Fry for letting the side down, promise to do better next time and refill his empty teacup or suggest a gin and tonic instead? It seems to me that Fry does not want a God but a social equal, perhaps an old public school chum, he can have a chat with in his study in Oxford in front of a cheery fire over tea and crumpets. His desire to have a God he can relate to shows that he wants the best of both worlds. He can be cynical and dismissive in front of a television audience he needs to entertain to make a living yet he still wants to address a subject, God, he thinks is absurd.  

I can´t help but wonder what people like Fry really feel. Like many arrogant atheists, Fry is not humble enough to see that people turn to God because they need him. God does not have to market himself to us. We know that misery exists and all of us have faced or will face personal tragedies in our lives when we have lost those dearest to us but we don´t blame God. We accept that life is like that.

People don´t want the kind of Greek gods Fry wants with all their human frailties. Children quickly grow out of believing in Father Christmas and face the real world. Having a belief in God helps us cope with this existence “between two eternities” as Anthony Burgess once put it.

Voltaire said, “If God did not exist we would have to invent him.” That might sound cynical but there is a lot of sense in it. Look at the Communist regimes that suppressed religion and tried to impose atheism. They have all failed.

We need God. It´s as simple as that. Spending a lifetime without having a religious faith must be hell on earth.

 *“How Many Gods Do We Need?” posted on August 21.

 © John Brander Fitzpatrick 2026