How to Counter Religion's Toxic Effects‪.‬

EDWARD O. WILSON AND DANIEL DENNETT advocate new ways to think about religion that can have a profound impact on how we as humanists define our ideology and how we strengthen our public influence. In short, these honored humanist philosophers believe that we need to ground our thought and action not on a complete rejection of religion, but on a scientific understanding of it. In Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Dennett specifically challenges his readers to find ways to use science to combat what he calls "toxic religion." In addition to past holy wars, inquisitions, persecutions, "and all the wretched abuses of superstition and theocracy," toxic religion currently threatens secular society by seeking to control our "moral" behavior--denying access to contraception while outlawing termination of pregnancy, criminalizing sexual acts between consenting adults, banning stem cell research, refusing the terminally ill access to assisted death, preventing inoculation of young girls against cervical cancer, and degrading science education with religious doctrine. Dennett's central policy recommendation is that we--and by "we" he is certainly addressing humanists--educate the people of the world, both gently and firmly "so that they can make truly informed choices about their lives."