Richard Dawkins is one of the most respected scientists in the world today. He is also rabidly anti-religious. In his most recent book, which he proudly titles A Devil's Chaplain (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003), he devotes 6 of his 32 chapters to denouncing religion as a malignant infection of the human mind. He condemns all religions for being dangerous and insidious illusions. "Modern theists," writes Dawkins, "might acknowledge that, when it comes to Baal and the Golden Calf, Thor and Wotan, Poseidon and Apollo, Mithras and Ammon Ra, they're actually atheists. We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further."

Dawkins' biggest problem with religion is its sponsoring of hatred, aggression, and violence. And religions do have…