You see, growing up in a catholic household, the author couldn’t help but point out the hypocrisy and discrimination that the religion so openly preaches. Michael—who himself identifies as gay—cannot wrap his head around the fact that growing up, he was reminded how no one could love him more than God, yet when he came out to the people of God, he was shunned and met with hostility. The same people who reminded him about how much God loved him now pointed out how his identity—something God created—is the very reason for his displeasure with these so-called Christians who are now calling him an abomination and not one of God’s children anymore.

While he believes that all organized religions are the same, the author remains focused on Catholicism and Christianity, given he wants to share his story and experiences with the organized religion he is too familiar with. Michael repeatedly reminds his readers that he is 100% in favor of all the five freedoms of the First Amendment which includes the freedom of religion. Nevertheless, he is still not a fan of any religion. Caputo hates the overpublicized view of religion, where it is treated like a marketing pitch and divides humans based on religion, which entices hate, differences, and a lack of tolerance. Throughout his book, he emphasizes that church and state should never be intermixed.

The author reminds his readers of his spiritual but not religious (SBNR) status, where he repeatedly says that he loves God but hates organized religion. He refuses to believe that whatever we get preached even comes through God. He strongly feels that God and religion are separate entities and that no human being should ever fuse the two, or any dictionary should ever declare them synonyms. This author remains honest and unapologetic about everything that he has written in this book concerning those people who identify as Christian or Catholic. The author believes that this book is a real eye-opener for all people, religious and non-religious, who have been misled and uninformed, especially in America.

This book is one of the most intriguing reads that dissects the need for organized religion and how it doesn’t serve the purpose of humanity. It can be one of the author’s books that can either highly offend you or illuminate you to a whole new philosophy regarding religion, God, and spirituality. This book is indeed going to ruffle some feathers, given how many conservatives find religion a sensitive topic. But suppose you are one of those liberated folks looking for new ways of thinking and seeking perspectives on everything and are inquisitive about it. In that case, this book is just the book for you.