Richard Dawkins - TED 2002
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- Published on Sunday, 30 May 2010 07:06
- Written by John Draper
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Just after 9/11 and well before he published the God Delusion, Richard Dawkins spoke for the TED series in February 2002. It was published on-line in 2007 and to me it's the beginning of his public fire and strong criticism of religion. He says at the end of his talk: "Let's all stop being so damn respectful". This talk covers most of what he has said in recent talks including a complete put-down of Intelligent design and other Creationism nonsense. He blasts Bush for his crap that only Christians can be citizens and is dismayed that other US politicians are so afraid of the Christian lobby.
He points out that there is a taboo in the world - especially the U.S. - against speaking against religion. He agrees with Creationists that science is corrosive to religion - but says that religion is also corrosive to science. He comments on and agrees with surveys that show that a higher education and/or higher intelligence is closely related to a reduced belief in a god.
Along the way he calls for a more militant atheism and encourages atheists to "come-out". [In 2007 he was instrumental in launching the current "out campaign". ]
If you only watch one Dawkins video, this is the one to watch. 29 minutes