The Atheist Motion

Douglas Murray’s intervention during the debate "ThisHouse Believes Religion Has No Place In The 21st Century." (CambridgeUnion Debate 2013)

“Believe it is true or not, religion provided and, I willsay, provides and will provide in the future an opportunity for people to askserious questions about themselves, ask serious questions about the universeand their existence”...

“It [Religion] injects the sense into society and into the debate,as long as it cannot harm and hamper scientific progress”…

“It [Religion] is not true, it is not literally true. But canreligion carry truth? Yes! Schopenhauer says in his Dialogue on religion, truthmay be like water, it needs a vessel to carry it. We don’t have very manyvessels. And if you believe that we can go into the 21-st century not onlysaying we don’t need a vessel ourselves, but nobody else should have one, I don’tbelieve that would be a period of greater understanding”…  

“The deal in the 21-st century must be this. Religions mustnot have the ability to dictate the lives of people who do not follow thosereligions. Religion must have no ability to dictate law or to dictate the livesof people who do not follow those of the religions. That, I think, should bethe thing that religion gives up. Largely it has given it up. The Church ofEngland has given up most it and I think it’s a good thing. It has lead theway. Religions will have to concede that. But, the nonreligious should make a concession,too. The nonreligious should accept, in the 21-st century that it is not thecase, that religion has nothing whatsoever to say. It does. It has a voice. It hasa contribution to make. It is thoughtful, in parts. It has thought things over.If the 21-st century is to work, it will involve all of these things, it willinvolve religion, though in its place, but it will also involve atheists and secularistsknowing that their place is not to dismiss, deride, and laugh at as meaninglesssomething, which seeks the meaning. If the 21-st century is to work, religionwill have a place”.

“People can agree with Professor Dawkins and hiscolleagues, but no rational person can agree with his motion”.