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Dawkins
believes that his own atheism is the logical extension of his understanding of
evolution[83]
and that religion is largely incompatible with science.[84] In his 1986 book The Blind
Watchmaker, Dawkins wrote:
An atheist before Darwin could have said, following Hume:
“I have no explanation for complex biological design. All I know is that
God isn’t a good explanation, so we must wait and hope that somebody comes up
with a better one.” I can’t help feeling that such a position, though
logically sound, would have left one feeling pretty unsatisfied, and that
although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made
it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.[85]
In his 1991 essay “Viruses of the Mind” (from which the term faith-sufferer
originated), he suggested that memetic
theory might analyse and explain the phenomenon of religious belief
and some of the common characteristics of religions, such as the belief that
punishment awaits non-believers. According to Dawkins, faith − belief that is
not based on evidence − is one of the world’s great evils. He regards it as
analogous to the smallpox virus, though more difficult to eradicate.[86]
Dawkins is well known for his contempt for religious extremism, from Islamist terrorism[87]
to Christian fundamentalism;
but he has also argued with liberal believers and religious scientists, from
biologists Kenneth Miller[88]
and Francis Collins[89]
to theologians Alister McGrath and Richard Harries.[90]
Dawkins has stated that his opposition
to religion is twofold, claiming it to be both a source of conflict and a
justification for belief without evidence.[91]
However, he describes himself as a “cultural Christian“,[92] and proposed the slogan
“Atheists for Jesus”.
The British
Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents “people who
seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs.”
In his 1991 essay “Viruses of the Mind”
(from which the term faith-sufferer originated), he suggested that memetic
theory might analyse and explain the phenomenon of
religious belief and some of the common characteristics of religions, such as
the belief that punishment awaits non-believers. According to Dawkins, faith −
belief that is not based on evidence − is one of the world’s great evils. He
regards it as analogous to the smallpox virus, though more difficult to
eradicate.[86]
Dawkins is well known for his contempt for religious extremism, from Islamist terrorism[87]
to Christian fundamentalism;
but he has also argued with liberal believers and religious scientists, from
biologists Kenneth
Miller[88]
and Francis Collins[89]
to theologians Alister
McGrath and Richard Harries.[90]
Dawkins has stated that his opposition
to religion is twofold, claiming it to be both a source of
conflict and a justification for belief without evidence.[91]
However, he describes himself as a “cultural Christian“,[92]
and proposed the slogan “Atheists for Jesus”.[93]
According to Dawkins, there is no such thing as a
Christian child or a Muslim child, as children have about as much capacity to
make the decision to become Christians or Muslims as they do to become
Marxists.[101]
