McEwan's strong atheist convictions are well known. Speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival in March, he condemned the “utterly perverse and inhumane” decisions of religious parents who allow their children to die, claiming that religion is “distinctly unhelpful” in making rational choices. Discussing his research into similar legal cases, the author cited the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing blood transfusions, and stated that "On the whole, the secular mind seems far superior in making reasonable judgments.”