‘The God Delusion’ author Richard Dawkins has started a tour of America to try and get the under-represented atheists to pool their collective unbelieving and press for change in American culture. The main unsettling bits for them include religion in schools (i.e. creationism), religion in government (i.e. Bush’s faith-based initiatives) and the Jewish influence that permeates American foreign policy. I can’t say I disagree with the last bit. In my opinion we do stand by Israel slightly more than we probably ought to. It’s possibly part of the reason why we’re involved in the whole ‘war on terror’ as it is.
Dawkins definitely has an up-hill battle to get anywhere in America. I do tend to agree with him that religion is too deep-rooted in some areas. Religion is ultimately a personal decision and, I think, should definitely not be forced on anyone not wanting to take part. Having said that, however, I think Dawkins should go take a flying leap off the nearest cliff. I know that’s not too very open-minded but, hey, it’s my blog.
On a side note, I found this University of Minnesota survey result quite interesting:
Americans distrust atheists more than any other minority group, including homosexuals, recent immigrants or Muslims.
I’d love to have been in the room where that question was thought up. Definitely not the most politically correct but, I suppose, for a survey it will definitely elicit the most honest responses.