Scruton vs Dawkins
From Graham Barnes Sir: Roger Scruton offers his usual measured, rational response to Richard Dawkins on the matter of religion, even boldly taking on Dawkins’s ridiculously literalist view of memetic theory (‘Dawkins is wrong about God’, 14 January). Scruton is also right to suggest that the ‘territorial imperative’, not religion, is to blame for war. It comes naturally to us to fight, hate and kill. Though we cushion ourselves from these impulses with the wealth we create through capitalism and curb them with the compassionate ideals of religion, they’ll never leave us completely. Our brutality is not the fault of our religion, but of our humanity.
Many wars and crimes have been attributed to religion, some justly. But there have been few that did not have a great many worldly motives, and plenty which had no religious element at all.
Graham Barnes Ottawa, Canada
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