VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Dinah|DATE|1359375025|CONTENT|I remember the late Linda Smith saying it was the Holocaust which had influenced her to become a humanist.  No god who cared about humanity could have stood by and done nothing in the face of such immeasurable suffering.  But as for getting rid of religion, I don’t think it would be possible or even desirable.  When it’s been tried in the past, it has only resulted in one kind of tyranny being replaced by another – worship of the state, or of a megalomaniacal ruler.  Religion exploits fears and needs deep in the human psyche, and history shows us that many will endure the most dreadful suffering rather than give up their faith.  The best we can do is defend our right to criticise religion, to expose its absurdities, to strive to keep it in its place, and to cherish and protect secularism from the onslaught of its critics.|IP-ADDRESS|79.71.122.118|MODERATIONFLAG|