"Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!"
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Philosophers from EnglandScience authorsNon-fiction authors from EnglandBiologists from EnglandSkeptics
Original Language: English
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Sources
Has the world changed?, The Guardian (11 October 2001)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins
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Richard Dawkins
evolutionary biologist, ethologist, science writer
1941 · United Kingdom
337 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Richard Dawkins →
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