Bad Faith

When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine

By: Paul A. Offit MD

Narrated by: Tom Perkins

In recent years there have been major outbreaks of whooping cough among children in California, mumps in New York, and measles in Ohio's Amish country - despite the fact that these are all vaccine-preventable diseases. Although America is the most medically advanced place in the world, many people disregard modern medicine in favor of using their faith to fight life-threatening illnesses. In 21st-century America, how could this be happening?

Acclaimed physician and author Dr. Paul Offit chronicles the stories of these faithful and their children, whose devastating experiences highlight the tangled relationship between religion and medicine in America. Religious or not, this issue reaches everyone - whether you are seeking treatment at a Catholic hospital or trying to keep your kids safe from diseases spread by their unvaccinated peers.

Replete with vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just unwise and immoral but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer.

©2015 Paul A. Offit, M.D. (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Offit masterfully points out that the denial of medicine in the name of religion actually rejects the basic teaching of religious faith." ( Library Journal)

A must read

This book is chock full of stories that most people I know probably have never heard of.

It is time for America to WAKE UP and realize that "Freedom of Religion" is ensuring that parents can do what they like, and kill their children in the name of religion. And this DENIES THE RIGHTS of the children to a life to live!

Parents who refuse medical care to their children in the name of religion need to be prosecuted! Please read this book.

I know our country was founded on the idea of "Freedom of Religion." What about the Right to Life by a child who needed protecting by their parents, teachers, church, family, community? They often can't speak up for themselves. We as a country need to speak up for the defenseless.

"Freedom of Religion" is NOT good enough alone.

Good thought piece

Enjoyed the thought and historical context brought to the conversation, but was hoping for more of an urging to action.

Offit is the best science writer since Sagan.

Haven’t listened to a book of his I didn’t love. Please listen to this and all of his other books.

Deeply shocking

In the last 6 years I've been alarmed by the ignorance and lies that have surrounded assessments of the Covid pandemic and promoted by Donald Trump and his followers. Much of this has been exacerbated by the American cult of freedom which ignores social responsibilities attached to freedom.

In Offit book he describes horrors perpetrated on children of some 'faith healing' cults. It must have been incredibly painful for the author to have to research and write about the many abuses, particularly as a pediatrician.

As a person of faith it was shocking to learn about these churches and caused me to question my associations with some churches, though I've never held to a faith alone approach to health.

A useful companion to this title would be Francis Collins' "The Road to Wisdom" since the NIH director is a committed scientist and an active Evangelical Christian.

A very painful but essential read.

Children and religion-induced medical neglect

Paul Offit's book "Bad Faith" was much less a condemnation of religious dogma interfering with health care than a critique on the fallacies of religious avoidance of certain medical practices; ultimately, the books is a call to arms for better protection of children, some of the most vulnerable of the population to infectious diseases, and less leniency on parents who use religion to exempt their children from life saving treatments that lead to their death. Full of anecdotes of common, treatable or preventable conditions, the stories seem like they are pulled out of the early 20th century. There was interesting exploration of the history of child neglect and children's historical lack of rights that helped put into perspective the abuses and rights violations made by parents who choose religion and prayer over modern medical care. I enjoyed Offit's approach to the ethical issues involved in parents refusing care for sick/ dying children, but he did go on a few tangents that seemed to distract from the otherwise engaging narrative. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in the issue of religious exemptions to medical care, prayer healing and other practices from a diverse sampling of religions, and ethical considerations in pediatric care (or the avoidance of care).