Morality and ethics have always been a great source of debate and contention between different factions of various interests, beliefs and ideals due to their centrality and fundamental role in society and in civilization and incredible importance for daily life and decision making. In many of these disputes, religious faith, or lack thereof, serves as an important driving force behind one or both sides of the issue. In the modern world, one of the greatest examples of this can be seen in the numerous debates between atheist and religious individuals over the implications of religious belief on morality. One of the most famous atheists, Christopher Hitchens, claims that religion is not only not necessary for morality, but actually hinders it. In his work God is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens challenges religious believers to “name an ethical statement or action, made or performed by a person of faith, that could not have been made or performed by a non-believer.” believer”, and then proudly states that many have made the attempt but no one has given him a satisfactory answer. However, the best response to this challenge is to point out the inherent flaws in his logic, the unfairness of his challenge, and, first and foremost, the fact that Hitchens is asking the wrong question. The first problem with Hitchens' challenge is that The question he is asking is actually very unfair. The cosmology of an atheist and religious individual will naturally have major differences that cause similar rifts in what is deemed ethical, moral, “good” and “bad,” and whether the latter two concepts exist or not. If one has a view of reality that depends on the creation of a higher being, then that individual's belief... is at the heart of the card... iefs. This leads to the declaration of challenges like Hitchens' when in reality these are the wrong questions to ask (“Center Update”). The pertinent question is not to ask whether religion or atheism is the cause of morality or immorality, but to ask in what environments and conditions faith, or lack thereof, contributes to such decisions. Works Cited “Center Update: Case Studies on Religion and Conflict.” The Berkley Center. Georgetown University, nd Web. October 20, 2012. Hitchens, Christopher. “An Atheist Responds.” The Washington Post. Np, July 15, 2007. Web. 20 October 2012. Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. New York: Twelve, 2007. Print.Slezak, P. “Gods of the State: Atheism, Enlightenment, and Barbarism.” new century: philosophical reflections (2009): 20. Web. 20 October. 2012.