The Value of Religion- a brief response to Richard Dawkins

"Much of what people do is done in the name of God. Irishmen blow each other up in his name. Arabs blow themselves up in his name. Imams and ayatollahs oppress women in his name. Celibate popes and priests mess up people's sex lives in his name. Jewish shohets cut live animals' throats in his name. The achievements of religion in past history - bloody crusades, torturing inquisitions, mass-murdering conquistadors, culture-destroying missionaries, legally enforced resistance to each new piece of scientific truth until the last possible moment - are even more impressive. And what has it all been in aid of? I believe it is becoming increasingly clear that the answer is absolutely nothing at all. There is no reason for believing that any sort of gods exist and quite good reason for believing that they do not exist and never have. It has all been a gigantic waste of time and a waste of life. It would be a joke of cosmic proportions if it weren't so tragic."

Dr Richard Dawkins who held the Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University

write a short piece of text outlining your views on religion as a worthwhile human activity. Do you agree with Dawkins? If so, why? Or is religion worthwhile? If it is worthwhile in what ways does it benefit individuals and/or the world and/or you?

The majority of contemporary war and unrest stems from the extremist religious views of some, as it has done in the past. However, I agree with Emily Allen and Morag Cooper; to quote Morag ‘it really annoys me when people say religion causes war. War is caused by human greed, demands for power and land, calling it a holy war will recruit much needed volunteers but if this excuse was not used, another would be found.’

To overlook religion would be to overlook a quintessential part of our history and identity. Modern society originates from the principles of some form of religion or faith. Coming from a Christian education, our school days were deeply embedded in the Christian faith. I attended school in Brunei for a short time during primary school and was lucky to be surrounded by a different religion and culture to my own. As small children we are very accepting of our surroundings; this acceptance, respect and interest in other faiths and religions has followed me into adulthood.

As we move into the 21^st century it may be that we in Scotland move towards a secular society. (As shown in the stats from the Scottish 2001 and 2011 census from Graeme Nixon’s lecture today- Will Scotland continue to move down this route? Will the Jedi Knights increase??). As we travel further into this age of technological advancement etc., we may find ourselves either affirming and strengthening our religious beliefs, or disregarding them entirely. Either way there is everything to gain from understanding, respecting and experiencing other religions, faiths and philosophies.