Politics and Religion

I've consistently stated that religion has no place in politics, let alone in the American presidential campaign. Unfortunately, more and more people steadfastly adopt their candidate representatives on the basis of their religious affinities. It's been well documented how Bush cited Christian experience when justifying the 'War on Terror'. And maybe, just maybe, this piece of information is a turning point in American mindset - if it's OK to bash the Mormons, surely their beliefs are no less absurd than the well-established Christian mainstream. Last month Richard Dawkins embarked on his US mission to preach his atheist manifesto, and although he'll face stronger opposition than perhaps he did in England, he would have experienced the beginnings of a monumental cultural shift, similar to what was witnessed in England. What's more, Bryan anointed Dawkins' The Selfish Gene as one of the books that has defined Britain, and he's been one of the many to call for the Theory of Evolution to be reclassified as the Law of Evolution. I'm not up to scratch on my dictionary definitions, but it is a poignant question, one which I posed to my evolutionist lecturer earlier today (I'll post his answer later).