What Richard Dawkins thinks about religion
Evolutionary biologist and author; writes The Poetry of Reality newsletter on Substack.
Richard Dawkins did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Only Richard Dawkins on religion. See everyone on religion
11 dated positions, c. 1986 to c. 2006, in their own words. Our reading of what Richard Dawkins has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsThe God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Their wordsI am attacking God, all gods, anything and everything supernatural, wherever and whenever they have been or will be invented.
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Their wordsFaith is an evil precisely because it requires no justification and brooks no argument.
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Our readingBelievers should ask whether God's reward and punishment are their only reason to be good
Their wordsDo you really mean to tell me the only reason you try to be good is to gain God's approval and reward, or to avoid his disapproval and punishment?
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Our readingThere is no such thing as a Catholic child: children are too young to know where they stand
Their wordsif you hear anybody speak of a 'Catholic child', stop them and politely point out that children are too young to know where they stand on such issues
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Our readingLabelling children with beliefs they are too young to have thought about is a form of child abuse
Their wordsEven without physical abduction, isn't it always a form of child abuse to label children as possessors of beliefs that they are too young to have thought about?
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Their words'the God Hypothesis' is a scientific hypothesis about the universe, which should be analysed as sceptically as any other.
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Their wordswe do not need God in order to be good - or evil.
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Our readingMorality probably predated religion
Their wordsMorality, indeed, probably predated religion.
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Their wordsBeing an atheist is nothing to be apologetic about. On the contrary, it is something to be proud of, standing tall to face the far horizon
↗The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)archive.org All 13 from this book
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Their wordsalthough atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.
↗The Blind Watchmaker (W. W. Norton, 1986)archive.org All 5 from this book