Religion who needs it?

This is the movie trailer for an upcoming documentary entitled Jesus Camp about an evangelical summer camp for kids in North Dakota.



The trailer shows how religious extremism is not only found across the ocean, but is prevalent in our own backyard. The evangelicals in the US have a strong fundamentalist movement going in both the public and the government. They have created a powerful lobby that are having influences in the teaching of science, foreign policy, and domestic issues (ie. gay marriage, abortion).

All men are searching for the meaning of life. We question where we came from, and what the future will behold. Many believe in a book written centuries ago. They believe their holy book is fact, and believe this on faith. Faith is believing or often times having total acceptance in something without having to see any evidence. Men of a spiritual or religious nature often say they have faith, trust, or belief in a higher power. Is this just false hope? It may be a question of reason and thinking versus "faith" or non-thinking.

We live in a country of religious tolerance. But if religion is unchecked it could lead to dire consequences. You find that in the most violent conflicts in the world, religious extremism is at the core of it. From the 9/11, to the bombings of London and Madrid, to the conflicts in the Middle East, you find men killing men in the name of their respective god. Religious extremism breeds anger. And anger breeds hate. And hate breeds violence. With violence comes death and destruction.

Richard Dawkin's view on the indoctrination of children and religion in schools.



Richard Dawkins, the Oxford biologist, is an outspoken atheist and humanist, and also is a noted author on evolutionary biology. He first came to prominence in 1976 with his revolutionary book in evolution The Selfish Gene, which argued that natural selection works at the gene level. His new book God's Delusion is due Oct, 2006. This book will prove to be controversial as he tries to prove that the world would be a better place without religion. He wrote and produced a two part television documentary entitled "Root of all Evil?" for Channel 4 in the UK. Contrary to what you might guess, the documentary does not argue money is the root of all evil. However, the film does challenge religion, and tries to seek the question of how religion can be growing in a Age of science and reason. (The title of the film was Channel 4's choice to provide more controversy.)

Links to Root of All Evil documentary on Google Video
Root of all Evil part 1 :The God Delusion (47 min)
Root of all Evil part 2: The Virus of Faith (48 min)