[Mb-civic] Coming Out Against Religious Mania

[Jef Bek]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/richard-dawkins/coming-out-aga
inst-religi_5137.html

THE HUFFINGTON POST
8/12/05


08.04.2005 Richard Dawkins

 Coming Out Against Religious Mania

Congratulations to Sam Harris on a characteristically brilliant broadside.
His book, The End of Faith is one of those books that deserves to replace
the Gideon Bible in every hotel room in the land.

Articles like Harris's are valuable, not because they will change the minds
of religious idiots like Bush or those who voted for him, but because they
will have a 'consciousness-raising' effect upon the intelligent. There are
millions of intelligent atheists out there who are too frightened to come
out and admit it, because American society has allowed itself to drift into
a state where religious mania has become the respectable norm. But every
time a Sam Harris raises his voice in public, it will give courage to other
intelligent people to come out. Maybe there are some ­ intelligent but not
well educated ­ who didn't even realise atheism is a respectable option.

I know, I agree, it is easy for me, living in Britain where religion has no
power and it is religious people who feel the need to apologise (despite the
paradoxical existence of an established church with the queen as its head).
But America will change only when a critical mass of people is prepared to
'come out'. The more that do, the more that will.

I really don't mean to sound presumptuous or condescending, but my appeal to
my American friends is this. When you read something like this Sam Harris
article, don't just nod in silent agreement and go on keeping quiet
yourself. Start shouting, to encourage the others. I am hard at work on my
own book, The God Delusion, for precisely this reason.