Dr. Richard Dawkins, a British biologist who is famous for his leadership in the New Atheism movement, said in an interview on Easter Sunday (March 31) that he considers himself “a cultural Christian.”
Perhaps Dawkins’ most famous book is “The God Delusion,” which was published in 2006. In it, Dawkins argues that belief in a personal God is not merely untenable but actually delusional.
Nevertheless, Dawkins seemed to defend Christianity’s cultural impact in Britain during an interview with talk radio station Leading Britain’s Conversation. When asked what his “Easter message” for the nation would be, Dawkins said, “Well, I was quite horrified that Ramadan was being promoted instead.”
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Ramadan is a month of fasting and prayer observed by Muslims around the world every year.
“I do think that we are culturally a Christian country, and I call myself a cultural Christian,” Dawkins added. “I’m not a believer, but there’s a distinction between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian.”
“I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos,” Dawkins said, citing his affinity for Christian hymns and Christmas carols. “I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense.”
At the same time, Dawkins pointed out that “the number of people who actually believe in Christianity is going down” and that he’s “happy with that.”
“But I would not be happy if, for example, we lost all our cathedrals and our beautiful parish churches,” Dawkins said. “So I count myself a cultural Christian…If we substituted any alternative religion, that would be truly dreadful.”
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Dawkins went on to express concern about the number of mosques that are being constructed in Europe, saying, “If I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I’d choose Christianity every single time. I mean, it seems to me to be a fundamentally decent religion in a way that I think Islam is not.”
