******* great.
A cut and paste job with no commentary. I'll take it this the best we'll get from you.
So here goes:
1) Dawkins sees religion as subverting science, fostering
fanaticism, encouraging
bigotry against
homosexuals, and influencing society in other negative ways.
This is not an attack on religion. It's a fact.
Subverting science: legal challenges by the Discovery Institute along with other organizations attempting to remove the standards of science from educational institutions and replacing them with non-scientific standards.
Fostering fanaticism: One only need to go to New York City to see that. Or check out the children burned, doused in acid, attacked with machetes, etc. for allegedly being witches. There is more than enough fanaticism to be drawn from religious organizations to prove this point of fact.
Encouraging bigotry against homosexuals: Last I checked it was every moderate to liberal individual pointing out the primary religious opposition to equal rights for homosexuals. The religious for putting homosexuals to death in certain parts of the world. And it's only the religious organizations pushing these agendas.
Influencing society in other negative ways: How many religious organizations from Scientology, all those involved in the practices above, faith healers, etc. to point out that those who refuse to use any reason in place of blind faith to make people realize that there are many religious organizations causing social harm.
2) He equates the
religious teaching of children by parents and teachers in
faith schools to a form of mental abuse.
Indeed he does. In specific reference to the Catholic faith schools, telling children they are going to burn in hell, the physical and mental abuse that occurred in reality at many of these institutions, etc.
3) Dawkins considers the labels "
Muslim child" or a "
Catholic child" equally misapplied as the descriptions "
Marxist child" or a "
Tory child", as he wonders how a young child can be considered developed enough to have such independent views on the cosmos and humanity's place within it.
True. How can a child who has not had the experience of the various worldviews considered to be making their own choice to be a Muslim, Christian, atheist, etc. This is not an attack on anything.
4) The book concludes with the question whether religion, despite its alleged problems, fills a "much needed gap", giving consolation and inspiration to people who need it. According to Dawkins, these needs are much better filled by non-religious means such as philosophy and science. He suggests that an atheistic worldview is life-affirming in a way that religion, with its unsatisfying "answers" to life's mysteries, could never be. An appendix gives addresses for those "needing support in escaping religion".
Oh how horrible. Such a mean spirited attack against religion! Different ways of understanding the world! Uncalled for, Mr. Dawkins.
Seriously.
That was horrible.
