Quote:
Originally Posted by milo
This is pretty much news to me! Why do you care how people think? I thought the issue was stopping people from enforcing their world view on everyone else, but letting anyone who wanted to practise religion X do so. I couldn't care less why people believe in something false or why they get comfort from it. Why does it matter?
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Well from Dawkins perspective the reason is fairly obvious - finding out why people think what they think is the whole point of (evolutionary) psychology. He's trying to analyse why people hold religious beliefs - thats his schtick. From my point of view, it offends me that its the 21st century and I live in a country where a large number of people believe in transubstantiation. I'd also argue that Christian beliefs have a harmful effect on society overall, whether that is spreading the idea of 'hell' to a new generation of children, or providing the framework for most people's moral beliefs.
"letting people practice their religion' is ambiguous. Obviously everyone should be allowed to hold and practice reliigous beliefs without being met by forcible opposition or violence. But that doesnt mean that these beliefs should be tolerated in an intellectual sense, or that it shouldnt be pointed out how absurd they are.