Religion is on some kind of renaissance nowadays isn't it? Be it islamic fundamentalists or christian ones - the topic is all over the media and has been for quite a while now. The movement in the USA even seems to be strong enough to threaten science education (im particular evolution) and to make scientists fight against attacks from religious agitators. See here or here for two of the better known science blogs.

The initiative by these people to antagonise pseudo-scientific rubbish is surely to be welcomed and I certainly do not want to diminish their work, anyway, I am quite amazed that this is necessary at all. Shouldn't religion be on it's way to be forgotten and just remembered as what it was - a collection of funny ideas on how the world works (in lack of better understanding) and a means to find comfort for those that need it?

I admit, counting world-wide, it is probably a small minority of people that would agree with me, that there is no god and that all religion is invented by man. This does not make believers right, does it? Mind that I do not distinguish between the different religions - as soon as they propagate some kind of dogma that everyone has to believe because "it's right", they fall into my classification.

Just to make this clear, here comes a differentiation anyway: Of course, I do not care about what the private beliefs of people are and how they even can be helpful to many to find support in our far-from-perfect world. The kind of religion that I want to talk about is the offensive one, the one that evangelises, the one that propagates beliefs and teachings that oppose critical thinking and that try to revert the Age of Enlightenment.

I think Rushdie is right with this excellent article (I read it in German) in saying that religion is far from being a friendly player in the game and that it is to be battled against on every occasion.

For myself there is no question that religion is utterly useless nowadays and that little good and much more bad stems from it. I would also consider it a waste of time to even think or write about it, would there not be that frightening possibility that man's stupidity could win over reason. That may not happen.