My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race

De “Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?” (1930), recolhido depois em Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays (1957). Russell remete explicitamente a Lucrécio (De rerum natura) como precursor: religião como patologia social transmitida por gerações.