Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence. Richard Dawkins on great
When I say that human beings are just gene machines, one shouldn't put too much emphasis on the word 'just.' There is a very great deal of complication, and indeed beauty in being a gene machine. Richard Dawkins on great
But perhaps the rest of us could have separate classes in science appreciation, the wonder of science, scientific ways of thinking, and the history of scientific ideas, rather than laboratory experience. Richard Dawkins on history
I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history. Richard Dawkins on history
Complex, statistically improbable things are by their nature more difficult to explain than simple, statistically probable things. Richard Dawkins on nature
Nothing is wrong with peace and love. It is all the more regrettable that so many of Christ's followers seem to disagree. Richard Dawkins on peace
The Bible should be taught, but emphatically not as reality. It is fiction, myth, poetry, anything but reality. As such it needs to be taught because it underlies so much of our literature and our culture. Richard Dawkins on poetry
Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time. Richard Dawkins on power
God exists, if only in the form of a meme with high survival value, or infective power, in the environment provided by human culture. Richard Dawkins on power
Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time. Richard Dawkins on religion
I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. Richard Dawkins on religion
One of the things that is wrong with religion is that it teaches us to be satisfied with answers which are not really answers at all. Richard Dawkins on religion
A universe with a God would look quite different from a universe without one. A physics, a biology where there is a God is bound to look different. So the most basic claims of religion are scientific. Religion is a scientific theory. Richard Dawkins on religion
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Richard Dawkins on religion
It would be intolerant if I advocated the banning of religion, but of course I never have. Richard Dawkins on religion
There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can't prove that there aren't any, so shouldn't we be agnostic with respect to fairies? Richard Dawkins on respect
Isn't it sad to go to your grave without ever wondering why you were born? Who, with such a thought, would not spring from bed, eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be part of it? Richard Dawkins on sad
It has become almost a cliche to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature, but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics. Richard Dawkins on science