To: richard.dawkins@zoo.ox.ac.uk |
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Dear
Prof. Dawkins,
In
response to
your
Channel 4 documentary,
"The root of
all evil",
would you not
agree that the
way to tackle
religion is to
study and
understand it
from a
biological and
anthropological
perspective?
It
seems to me to
that religion
has very
important
psychological
and social
functions,
which you
dismiss as a
"crutch", but
which I
believe should
be a personal
and social
foundation.
"Re ligare",
from which the
word,
religion, is
derived, means
to "bind
together",
something
which is
essential for
an individual
and a society
- and a
deficiency of
which is
responsible
for many of
our present
social woes.
Instead of
just
criticising
and ridiculing
conventional
(and
non-conventional)
religion,
which I'm
guilty of too,
we need to
create better,
more truthful
and
useful, alternatives
(diversity
being what
gives beauty
and stability
not just to
ecosystems),
based not on
the "gospel
truth" but on
"scientific
truth" and a
perpetual
question mark,
to serve our
psychological
and social
needs and
replace the
religious
substitutes of
commercialism
and
consumerism
(deeply rooted
in our
primitive
animal nature)
which are
doing such
damage to our
planet and the
future
prospects for
our children
and coming
generations.
Best
regards from
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c