Dawkins

• Dawkins says the scientific method is more appropriate than religion. He says that just because science can't currently explain everything it does not mean you have to substitute religion in to fill those gaps. He believes that eventually we will be able to scientifically explain everything. Religion therefore is a cop-out.
• There is no need for God in the face of the evidence for evolution.
• Richard Dawkins understanding of memes is ideas that carry down a bit like genes. Those that are beneficial for survival survive and the irrelevant ones do not. A series of ideas that fit together forms a memeplex which survive as long as they need to. Religion is simply a memeplex that can be discarded and should not be judged in terms of truth.
• Religion is the cause of war. Dawkins points to the God of the old testament to show how God is used to justify war. Christianity is therefore a cause of social problems.
• Dawkins believes organised religion to be a form of child abuse. Labelling a child with such things as religion before they can fully understand what it means is a form of abduction or kidnapping. Beliefs like that of hell can cause psychological harm to children due to the fears it creates. Forcing children to perpetuate beliefs is abusive. Christianity is therefore the cause of personal problems.
• The evidence Dawkins gives of religious wars seems to ignore major wars, such as the world wars that involved no religious motivation (can counter easily)
• Dawkins uses extreme forms of religion to make his point but these are arguably not representative of religious belief
• Christianity is made up of humans and there will always be individuals who fall short of God's ideal but this does not make the whole religion a cause of problems.
• Christianity has an extensive record of social justice, which improves lives.
• Christianity in the UK is the established religion and therefore creates a society where one group has preferential treatment
• Christianity rejected advances in science (to an extent) and so holds society back.
• Some ethical aspects of Christianity do not match with the views of modern society, such as its views about homosexuality and this causes tension
• Christianity oppresses women through its belief in the authority of the Bible that is outdated