Sunday Discourse: Is Religion Dangerous?

Suggest: Understanding the New Atheism, Part 1

by Kerby Anderson, Point of View: The New Atheists contend that religion is not just false, it’s dangerous. Sam Harris believes it should be treated like slavery and eradicated. Christopher Hitchens wants to rally his fellow atheists against religion: “It has become necessary to know the enemy, and to prepare to fight it.” Richard Dawkins is even more specific: “I am attacking God, all gods, anything and everything supernatural, wherever and whenever they have been invented.”

Much of the criticism against religion revolves around violence. We do live in a violent world and religion has often been the reason (or at least the justification) for violent acts. But the New Atheists are kidding themselves if they think a world without religion would usher in a utopia where there is no longer violence, oppression, or injustice.

Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow point out in their book on the New Atheists Is God a Human Invention? that details matter when examining religion. Injustices by the Taliban in Afghanistan ought not to be used as part of the cumulative cases against religion in general or Christianity in particular. The fact that there are Muslim terrorists in the world does not mean that all Muslims are dangerous. And it certainly doesn’t mean that Christianity is dangerous.

Keith Ward says, “No one would deny that there have been religious wars in human history. Catholics have fought Protestants, Sunni Muslims have fought Shi’a Muslims, and Hindus have fought Muslims. However, no one who has studied history could deny that most wars in human history have not been religious. And in the case of those that have been religious, the religious component has usually been associated with some non-religious, social, ethnic, or political component that has exerted a powerful influence on the conflicts.” Consider that merely three atheistic regimes of the twentieth century (Hitler in Nazi Germany, Stalin in Russia, and Mao in China) are responsible for more than 100 million deaths.

Religion is not the problem; people are the problem. Removing religion and God from a society doesn’t make it less dangerous. The greatest death toll in history took place in the last century in atheistic societies. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.
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Kirby Anderson is an author, lecturer, visiting professor and radio host and contributor on nationally syndicated "Point of View" and the "Probe" radio programs.

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Tags: Kerby Anderson, Point of View, Religion, beleifs, New Atheists, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!