In 1929, Bertrand Russell wrote an essay called ‘Has Religion Contributed Anything Useful to Civilization?’ where he argued that religion has been a source of ‘untold misery to the human race.’ Russell lists all of the various ways in which he thinks religion has damaged both society and the individual. Russell admits that religion was useful in fixing the calendar and for Egyptian priests to chart the stars, but apart from that, it's been no good at all. For Russell, religion is defined by its

"Love is wise, hatred is foolish..." Philosopher Bertrand Russell, born #onthisday 150 years ago in 1872, shared his wisdom with the BBC in 1959. | BBC Archive