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|footnotes = Fellow of the [[Royal Society]].
|footnotes = Fellow of the [[Royal Society]].
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'''Clinton Richard Dawkins''', [[Royal Society#Fellowship|FRS]] (born [[March 26]], [[1941]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[ethology|ethologist]], [[evolutionary biology|evolutionary biologist]] and [[popular science]] writer. He holds the [[Charles Simonyi]] Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the [[University of Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/index.shtml |title=The Simonyi Professorship Home Page |accessdate=2008-03-08 |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/dawkins.html |title=The Third Culture: Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2008-03-08 |publisher=Edge.org}}</ref>
'''Clinton Richard Dawkins''', [[Royal Society#Fellowship|FRS]] (born [[March 26]], [[1941]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[ethology|ethologist]], [[evolutionary biology|evolutionary biologist]] and [[popular science]] writer. He is going to [[Hell]] for denying the existence of Almighty GOD and criticising [[Catholicism|the Faith]].

Born in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], Dawkins moved to [[England]] with his parents at the age of eight and later completed his education at the University of Oxford. He first came to prominence with his 1976 book ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'', which popularised the [[gene-centered view of evolution]] and coined the term ''[[meme]]''. In 1982, he made a widely cited contribution to [[evolutionary biology]] with the theory, presented in his book ''[[The Extended Phenotype]]'', that [[phenotype|phenotypic]] effects are not limited to an [[organism]]'s body but can stretch far into the environment, which includes the bodies of other organisms.

In addition to his biological work, Dawkins is a well-known [[atheism|atheist]].<ref name="education">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Alexandra |url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1958138,00.html |title=Dawkins campaigns to keep God out of classroom |accessdate=2007-01-15 |date=[[November 27]], [[2006]] |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name="suntimes">{{cite news |last=Chittenden |first=Maurice |coauthors=Waite, Roger |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3087486.ece |title=Dawkins to preach atheism to US |accessdate=2008-04-01 |date=[[December 23]], [[2007]] |publisher=The Sunday Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Persuad |first=Raj |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&targetRule=%5C10&xml=%2Fconnected%2F2003%2F03%2F19%2Fecfgod119.xml |title= Holy visions elude scientists |accessdate=2008-04-17 |date=2003-03-20 |publisher=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> In his 1986 book ''[[The Blind Watchmaker]]'', he argued against the [[watchmaker analogy]], an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the observed complexity of living organisms, and instead described evolutionary processes as being analogous to a ''blind'' watchmaker. He has since written several popular science books, and made regular appearances on television and radio programmes, discussing [[atheism]], [[evolution]], [[creationism]], [[intelligent design]], and [[religion]].

Dawkins has widely been referred to in the media as "Darwin's Rottweiler",<ref name=discover>{{cite web |url=http://www.discover.com/issues/sep-05/features/darwins-rottweiler/ |title=Darwin's Rottweiler |accessdate=2008-03-22 |author=Hall, Stephen S. |date=2005-08-09 |publisher=Discover magazine}}</ref><ref name=mohler>{{cite web |url=http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2005-09-09 |title="Darwin's Rottweiler" -- Richard Dawkins Speaks His Mind |accessdate=2008-03-22 |last=Mohler |first=R. Albert |authorlink=R. Albert Mohler, Jr. |date=[[September 9]], [[2005]] |publisher=AlbertMohler.com }}</ref> by analogy with [[Thomas Henry Huxley|T. H. Huxley]], who was known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of [[evolution]].
Dawkins is a [[Freethought|freethinker]], [[Secular humanism|secular humanist]], <!-- PLEASE NOTE: 'sceptic' is the correct British spelling, and Dawkins is British -->[[Scientific skepticism|sceptic]], scientific [[Rationalism|rationalist]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Interviews/1997-winterhumanist.shtml |title=Why I am a secular humanist |accessdate=2008-03-13 |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref> and supporter of the [[Brights movement]].<ref name=godisnotgreat>{{cite book |author=[[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens, Christopher]] |title=[[God Is Not Great]]: How Religion Poisons Everything |publisher=Twelve Books |year=2007 |pages=5 |isbn=0-446-57980-7 |doi=}}</ref> He is a prominent critic of creationism and intelligent design. In his 2006 book ''[[The God Delusion]]'', Dawkins contends that a [[God|supernatural creator]] almost certainly does not exist and that religious faith qualifies as a [[delusion]]—as a fixed false belief. As of November 2007, the [[English language|English-language]] version had sold more than 1.5&nbsp;million copies and had been translated into 31 other languages,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.libsyn.com/media/pointofinquiry/POI_2007_12_7_Richard_Dawkins.mp3 | publisher= Richard Dawkins at Point of Inquiry | title= Richard Dawkins - Science and the New Atheism | accessdate=2008-03-14 | date=2007-12-08}}</ref> making it his most popular book to date.

==Biography==
===Early life ===
Richard Dawkins was born on [[March 26]], [[1941]], in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]].<ref name=cv>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/CV.shtml |title=Curriculum vitae of Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2008-03-13 |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref> His father, Clinton John Dawkins, was a farmer and former wartime soldier called up from colonial service in [[History of Malawi#Nyasaland|Nyasaland]] (now [[Malawi]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Biography/bio.shtml |title=Biography of Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2006-01-29 |author=Catalano, John |year=1995 |publisher=The University of Oxford }}</ref> Dawkins' parents came from an affluent upper-middle-class background—the Dawkins name was described in ''[[Landed gentry#Burke.27s Landed Gentry|Burke's Landed Gentry]]'' as "Dawkins of Over Norton". His father is a descendant of the Clinton family, which held the [[Earl of Lincoln|Earldom of Lincoln]], and his mother is Jean Mary Vyvyan Dawkins, [[née]] Ladner. Both were interested in [[natural science]]s, and answered the young Dawkins' questions in scientific terms.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/1595744.stm |title=Richard Dawkins: The foibles of faith |accessdate=2008-03-13 |date=2001-10-12 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>
Dawkins describes his childhood as "a normal [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] upbringing", but reveals that he began doubting the existence of [[God]] when he was about nine years old. He later reconverted because he was persuaded by the [[argument from design]], an argument for the [[existence of God]] or a creator based on perceived evidence of order, purpose, design or direction—or some combination of these—in nature. However, he began to feel that the customs of the [[Church of England]] were absurd, and had more to do with dictating morals than with God. When he better understood evolution, at the age of about 16, his religious position again changed because he felt that evolution could account for the [[complexity]] of life in purely material terms, rendering a supernatural designer unnecessary.<ref name=miller>{{ws|"[[s:The Atheism Tapes/Richard Dawkins|Interview with Richard Dawkins]]" in the 2004 television documentary series ''[[The Atheism Tapes]]'', published by the [[BBC]]}}</ref>

===Education and academic career===
Dawkins moved to [[England]] with his parents at age eight, and attended [[Oundle School]] from 1954 to 1959. He then studied [[zoology]] at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], where he was tutored by [[Nobel Prize]]-winning [[Netherlands|Dutch]] ethologist [[Nikolaas Tinbergen]], graduating in 1962. From 1962 to 1966, he was a research student at the [[University of Oxford]]. He received his [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|M.A.]] and [[Doctor of Philosophy|D.Phil.]] degrees in 1966. From 1965 to 1967, he was a research assistant to Tinbergen.<ref name=cv/>

From 1967 to 1969, Dawkins was an assistant professor of zoology at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. Dawkins was at Berkeley during the [[Vietnam War]]. Most of the students and the faculty at Berkley were against the Vietnam War and there was significant unrest and demonstration. He became heavily involved in such activities.<ref name="belief interview">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/people/dawkins.shtml |title="Belief" interview |accessdate=2008-04-08 |date=[[April 5]], [[2004]] |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
In 1970, he was appointed a lecturer, and—in 1990—a [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]], in zoology at the University of Oxford. In 1995, he was appointed Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, a position that had been endowed by [[Charles Simonyi]] with the express intention that the holder "be expected to make important contributions to the public understanding of some scientific field".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/aims/manifesto.shtml |title=Manifesto for the Simonyi Professorship |accessdate=2008-03-13 |author=Simonyi, Charles |authorlink=Charles Simonyi |date=1995-05-15 |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref> Since 1970, he has been a fellow of [[New College, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/index.shtml |title=The Current Simonyi Professor: Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2008-03-13 |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref>

Dawkins has delivered a number of inaugural and other notable lectures, including the [[Henry Sidgwick]] Memorial Lecture (1989), first [[Erasmus Darwin]] Memorial Lecture (1990), [[Michael Faraday]] Lecture (1991), [[Thomas Henry Huxley|T.H. Huxley]] Memorial Lecture (1992), Irvine Memorial Lecture (1997), Sheldon Doyle Lecture (1999), Tinbergen Lecture (2004), and [[Tanner Lectures]] (2003).<ref name=cv/> In 1991, he gave the [[Royal Institution Christmas Lectures|Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for Children]] (released on DVD in 2007 as ''[[Growing Up in the Universe]]'').

Dawkins has edited a number of journals and has acted as editorial advisor to ''[[Encarta Encyclopedia]]'' and the ''[[Encyclopedia of Evolution]]''. He writes a column for, and is a senior editor of, the [[Council for Secular Humanism]]'s ''[[Free Inquiry]]'' magazine. He has been president of the Biological Sciences section of the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]].

He has sat on numerous judging panels for awards as diverse as the [[Royal Society]]'s [[Faraday Award]] and the [[British Academy Television Awards]].<ref name=cv>Richard Dawkins, 2006. [http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/CV.shtml Curriculum Vitae]. (PDF).</ref> In 2004, Oxford's Balliol College initiated the Dawkins Prize, awarded for "outstanding research into the ecology and behaviour of animals whose welfare and survival may be endangered by human activities".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/official/miscellany/dawkins/index.asp |title=The Dawkins Prize for Animal Conservation and Welfare |accessdate=2008-03-30 |date=2007-11-09 |publisher=Balliol College, Oxford}}</ref>

In September 2008, Dawkins is due to retire from his post as Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, due to reaching the university's mandatory retirement age.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,2246,Charles-Simonyi-Professorship-in-the-Public-Understanding-of-Science,Richard-Dawkins |title=Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science |accessdate=2008-03-29 |author=Dawkins, Richard |publisher=RichardDawkins.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/fp/wd9-018.shtml |title=Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science - post advertisement |accessdate=2008-03-29 |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref>

===Personal life===
In 1967, Dawkins married fellow ethologist [[Marian Stamp Dawkins|Marian Stamp]], and they divorced in 1984. Later that year, Dawkins married Eve Barham—with whom he had a daughter, Juliet Emma Dawkins—but they too divorced, and Barham died of cancer in early 1999.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mary |last=Riddell |title=Eating people is wrong |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/199903260013 |publisher=New Statesman |date=[[March 26]], [[1999]] |accessdate=2008-03-13 }}</ref> In 1992, he married actress [[Lalla Ward]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Robin |last=McKie |title=Doctor Zoo |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1268687,00.html |publisher=The Guardian |date=[[July 25]], [[2004]] |accessdate=2008-03-17 }}</ref> Dawkins had met her through their mutual friend [[Douglas Adams]], who worked with Ward on the [[BBC]] science-fiction television programme ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Ward has illustrated over half of Dawkins' books and co-narrated the audio versions of two of his books, ''[[The Ancestor's Tale]]'' and ''[[The God Delusion]]''. In April 2008, it was announced that Dawkins will appear as a guest star in the fourth series of the revived ''[[Doctor Who]]''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Cole |last=Moreton |title=Russell T Davies: Return of the (tea) Time Lord |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/russell-t-davies-return-of-the-tea-time-lord-805255.html |publisher=The Independent |date=[[April 6]], [[2008]] |accessdate=2008-04-08 }}</ref>

==Work==
===Evolutionary biology===
[[Image:Dawkins aaconf.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Dawkins at the 34th annual conference of [[American Atheists]] on [[March 21]], [[2008]].]]
In his scientific works, Dawkins is best known for his popularisation of the [[gene-centered view of evolution]]. This view is most clearly set out in his books ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'' (1976), where he notes that "all life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities", and ''[[The Extended Phenotype]]'' (1982), in which he describes [[natural selection]] as "the process whereby [[replicator]]s out-propagate each other". In his role as an ethologist, interested in animal behaviour and its relation to [[natural selection]], he advocates the idea that the [[gene]] is the principal [[unit of selection]] in [[evolution]].
Dawkins has consistently been <!-- PLEASE NOTE: 'sceptical' is the correct British spelling, and Dawkins is British -->sceptical about non-adaptive processes in evolution (such as [[Spandrel (biology)|spandrels]], described by [[Steven Jay Gould|Gould]] and [[Richard Lewontin|Lewontin]]) and about selection at levels "above" that of the gene. He is particularly <!-- PLEASE NOTE: 'sceptical' is the correct British spelling, and Dawkins is British -->sceptical about the practical possibility or importance of [[group selection]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2006 |publisher=Transworld Publishers |isbn=0-5930-5548-9 |pages=169–172 }}</ref>
The gene-centred view also provides a basis for understanding [[altruism]]. Altruism appears at first to be an evolutionary paradox, since helping others costs precious resources, thus reducing one's own [[Fitness (biology)|fitness]]. Previously, many had interpreted this as an aspect of group selection: individuals were doing what was best for the survival of the population or species as a whole, and not specifically for themselves. [[W. D. Hamilton]] had used the gene-centred view to explain altruism in terms of [[inclusive fitness]] and [[kin selection]]—that individuals behave altruistically toward their close relatives, who share many of their own genes.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hamilton, W.D. |authorlink=W. D. Hamilton |title=The genetical evolution of social behaviour I and II |journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology |volume=7 |issue= |pages=1–16, 17–52 |year=1964 |pmid= }}</ref>{{Ref_label|a|a|none}} Similarly, [[Robert Trivers]], thinking in terms of the gene-centred model, developed the theory of [[reciprocal altruism]], whereby one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future reciprocation.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Trivers, Robert |title=The evolution of reciprocal altruism |journal=Quarterly Review of Biology |volume=46 |issue= |pages=35–57 |year=1971 |pmid= |url=}}</ref>

Critics of Dawkins' approach suggest that taking the [[gene]] as the unit of ''selection''—of a single event in which an individual either succeeds or fails to reproduce—is misleading, but that the gene could be better described as a unit of ''evolution''—of the long-term changes in [[allele]] frequencies in a population.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dear Mr Darwin |last=Dover |first=Gabriel |year=2000 |publisher=London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=0-7538-1127-8 |pages= }}</ref> In ''The Selfish Gene'', Dawkins explains that he is using [[George C. Williams]]' definition of the gene as "that which segregates and recombines with appreciable frequency".<ref>{{cite book |title=Adaptation and Natural Selection |last=Williams |first=George C. |year=1966 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=United States |isbn=0-691-02615-7}}</ref> Another common objection is that genes cannot survive alone, but must cooperate to build an individual, and therefore cannot be an independent "unit".<ref>{{cite book |title=What Evolution Is |last=Mayr |first=Ernst |authorlink=Ernst Mayr |year=2000 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=0-465-04426-3 |pages= }}</ref> In ''The Extended Phenotype'', Dawkins suggests that because of [[genetic recombination]] and [[sexual reproduction]], from an individual gene's viewpoint all other genes are part of the environment to which it is adapted. Recombination is a process during [[meiosis]] when pairs of [[chromosome]]s cross over to exchange segments of [[DNA]]. These sections are the "genes" to which Dawkins and Williams refer.

Advocates for higher levels of selection such as [[Richard Lewontin]], [[David Sloan Wilson]] and [[Elliot Sober]] suggest that there are many instances of phenomena (including altruism) that gene-based selection cannot satisfactorily explain.

In a set of controversies over the mechanisms and interpretation of evolution (the so-called "Darwin Wars"),<ref>{{cite book |title=The Darwin Wars: How stupid genes became selfish genes |last=Brown |first=Andrew |authorlink=Andrew Brown |year=1999 |publisher=London: Simon and Schuster |isbn=0-684-85144-X |pages= }}</ref> one faction was often named after Dawkins and its rival after [[United States|American]] biologist [[Stephen Jay Gould]], reflecting the pre-eminence of each as a populariser of pertinent ideas. In particular, Dawkins and Gould have been prominent commentators in the controversy over [[sociobiology]] and [[evolutionary psychology]], with Dawkins generally approving and Gould generally critical.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Evolutionists |last=Morris |first=Richard |year=2001 |publisher=W. H. Freeman |isbn=071674094X}}</ref> A typical example of Dawkins' position was his scathing review of ''[[Not in Our Genes]]'' by [[Steven Rose]], [[Leon J. Kamin]] and Richard C. Lewontin.<ref>{{Citation | last=Dawkins | first=Richard | publication-date=[[January 24]], [[1985]] | title=Sociobiology: the debate continues | periodical=New Scientist | url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Reviews/1985-01-24notinourgenes.shtml | accessdate=2008-04-03}}</ref> Two other thinkers on the subject often considered to be in the same camp as Dawkins are [[Steven Pinker]] and [[Daniel Dennett]]; Dennett has promoted a gene-centric view of evolution and defended [[reductionism]] in biology.<ref>{{cite book |title=Darwin's Dangerous Idea |last=Dennett |first=Daniel |authorlink=Daniel Dennett |year=1995 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=United States |isbn=0-684-80290-2}}</ref> Despite their academic disagreements, Dawkins and Gould did not have a hostile personal relationship, and Dawkins dedicated a large portion of his book ''[[A Devil's Chaplain]]'' to Gould.

===Meme===
{{main|Meme|Memetics}}
[[Image:The Selfish Gene3.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Dawkins first introduced the concept of a meme in his 1976 book ''[[The Selfish Gene]]''.]]
Dawkins coined the term ''meme'' (the cultural equivalent of a 'gene') to describe how Darwinian principles might be extended to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dawkins, Richard |title=[[The Selfish Gene]] |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=2nd ed. |year=1989 |location=United Kingdom |pages=11 |isbn=0-19-286092-5}}</ref> This has spawned the field of memetics. Dawkins used the word ''meme'' to refer to any cultural entity which an observer might consider a replicator. He hypothesised that people could view many cultural entities as capable of such replication, generally through exposure to humans, who have evolved as efficient (although not perfect) copiers of information and behaviour. Memes are not always copied perfectly, and might indeed become refined, combined or otherwise modified with other ideas, resulting in new memes, which may themselves prove more, or less, efficient replicators than their predecessors, thus providing a framework for a hypothesis of [[cultural evolution]], analogous to the theory of biological evolution based on genes.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kelly, Kevin |title=[[Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World]] |publisher=Addison-Wesley |year=1994 |location=United States |pages=360 |isbn=0-201-48340-8}}</ref>

Though Dawkins originally floated the idea in his 1976 book ''The Selfish Gene'', he has largely left the task of expanding upon it to other authors such as [[Susan Blackmore]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Meme Machine |last=Blackmore |first=Susan |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-286212-X |pages= }}</ref> Philosopher [[Mary Midgley]], whom Dawkins has debated since the late 1970s, criticises memetics, gene selection and sociobiology as being excessively reductionist.<ref>{{cite book |title=Science and Poetry |last=Midgley |first=Mary |year=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-27632-2 |pages= }}</ref> Midgley wrote in 1979 that she had previously "not attended to Dawkins", thinking it unnecessary to "[[Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?|break a butterfly upon a wheel]]"<ref>{{Citation
| last =Midgley
| first =Mary
| author-link =
| publication-date =
| date =
| year =1979
| title =Gene Juggling
| periodical =Philosophy
| series =
| publication-place =
| place =
| publisher =
| volume =54
| issue =210
| pages =439–458
| url =http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/articles/article.php?id=14
| issn =
| doi =
| oclc =
| accessdate =[[2008-03-18]]
}}</ref>—a comment that Dawkins described as being "hard to match, in reputable journals, for its patronising condescension toward a fellow academic".<ref>{{Citation
| last =Dawkins
| first =Richard
| author-link =
| publication-date =
| date =
| year =1981
| title =In Defence of Selfish Genes
| periodical =Philosophy
| series =
| publication-place =
| place =
| publisher =
| volume =56
| issue =
| pages =556–573
| url =http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/articles/article.php?id=5
| issn =
| doi =
| oclc =
| accessdate =[[2008-03-17]]
}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
| last =
| first =
| author-link =
| publication-date =
| date =[[December 1]], [[2004]]
| year =
| title =The Man Behind the Meme: An interview with Richard Dawkins
| magazine =[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]
| series =
| publication-place =
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| publisher =
| volume =
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| url =http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2110249&
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}}</ref>

Although Dawkins coined the term meme independently, he has never claimed that the idea itself was entirely a new one—there had been similar expressions for similar ideas in the past. John Laurent, in ''The Journal of Memetics'', has suggested that the term meme may have derived from the work of the little-known German biologist [[Richard Semon]].<ref name=mneme>{{Citation
| last =Laurent
| first =John
| year =1999
| title =A Note on the Origin of 'Memes'/'Mnemes'
| periodical =
| series =
| publication-place =
| place =
| publisher =Journal of Memetics
| volume =3
| issue =1
| pages =14–19
| url =http://cfpm.org/jom-emit/1999/vol3/laurent_j.html
| issn =
| doi =
| oclc =
| accessdate =[[2008-03-17]]
}}</ref> In 1904, Semon published ''Die Mneme'' (which appeared in English in 1924 as ''The Mneme''). Semon's book discussed the cultural transmission of experiences, with insights parallel to Dawkins'. Laurent also found the term ''mneme'' used in [[Maurice Maeterlinck]]'s ''The Life of the White Ant'' (1926), and highlighted the similarities to Dawkins' concept.<ref name=mneme/>

===Creationism===
Dawkins is a prominent critic of [[creationism]], describing it as a "preposterous, mind-shrinking falsehood".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/mar/09/religion.schools1 |title=A scientist's view |accessdate=2008-04-03 |author=Dawkins, Richard |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref> His 1986 book, ''[[The Blind Watchmaker]]'', contains a critique of the [[Teleological argument|argument from design]], and his other popular-science works often touch on the topic. In ''The Blind Watchmaker'', Dawkins refers to the [[watchmaker analogy]] made famous by the 18th-century theologian [[William Paley]] in his book ''Natural Theology''. Paley argued that, just as a watch is too complicated and too functional to have sprung into existence merely by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. According to Dawkins, however, natural selection is sufficient to explain the apparent functionality and non-random complexity of the biological world, and can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, albeit as an automatic, nonintelligent, ''blind'' watchmaker.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Books/blind.shtml |title=Book: The Blind Watchmaker |accessdate=2008-02-28 |author=Catalano, John |publisher=The University of Oxford}}</ref>

In 1986, Dawkins participated in the [[Oxford Union]]'s [[Huxley Memorial Debate]], in which he and [[John Maynard Smith]] debated [[A. E. Wilder-Smith]] and Edgar Andrews, president of the Biblical Creation Society.{{Ref_label|b|b|none}} Although, on the advice of his late colleague [[Stephen Jay Gould]], Dawkins generally refuses to participate in formal debates with creationists because doing so would give them the "oxygen of respectability" that they want. He suggests that creationists "don't mind being beaten in an argument. What matters is that we give them recognition by bothering to argue with them in public."<ref>{{cite book |title=A Devil's Chaplain |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2003 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=0-618-33540-4 |pages=256}}</ref>

In a December 2004 interview with [[Bill Moyers]], Dawkins said that "among the things that science does know, evolution is about as certain as anything we know". When Moyers questioned him on the [[Evolution as theory and fact|use of the word ''theory'']], Dawkins stated that "evolution has been observed. It's just that it hasn't been observed while it's happening." He added that "it is rather like a detective coming on a murder after the scene… the detective hasn't actually seen the murder take place, of course. But what you do see is a massive clue ... Huge quantities of circumstantial evidence. It might as well be spelled out in words of English."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript349_full.html#dawkins |title=''Now'' with Bill Moyers |accessdate=2006-01-29 |author=Moyers, Bill |date=[[December 3]], [[2004]] |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service}}</ref>

Dawkins has ardently opposed the inclusion of [[intelligent design]] in science education, describing it as "not a scientific argument at all, but a religious one".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/sep/01/schools.research |title=One side can be wrong |accessdate=2006-12-21 |date=[[September 1]], [[2005]] |author=Dawkins, Richard and Coyne, Jerry |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref> He has been a strong critic of the British organisation [[Truth in Science]], which promotes the teaching of creationism in public schools, and he plans—though the [[Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science]]—to subsidise the delivering of books, [[DVD]]s, and [[pamphlet]]s to schools, in order to counteract what he has described as an "educational scandal".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/news/article641971.ece |title=Godless Dawkins challenges schools |accessdate=2008-04-03 |date=[[November 19]], [[2006]] |author=Swinford, Steven |publisher=The Times}}</ref>

===Atheism, humanism and rationalism===
[[Image:Richard dawkins lecture.jpg|thumb|200px|Dawkins lecturing on his book ''[[The God Delusion]]'', [[June 24]], [[2006]].]]
Dawkins is an outspoken [[atheism|atheist]] and a prominent [[Criticism of religion|critic of religion]]. He is an Honorary Associate of the [[National Secular Society]],<ref>{{cite web | publisher = National Secular Society | url = http://www.secularism.org.uk/honoraryassociates.html | title = Our Honorary Associates | year =2005 |accessdate =2007-04-21}}</ref> a vice-president of the [[British Humanist Association]] (since 1996),<ref name=cv/> a Distinguished Supporter of the [[Humanist Society of Scotland]],<ref>{{cite web | publisher = The Humanist Society of Scotland | url = http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/about-us/the-hss-today.html | title = The HSS Today | year =2007 | accessdate =2008-04-03}}</ref> a Humanist Laureate of the [[International Academy of Humanism]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=iah&page=index |title=The International Academy Of Humanism - Humanist Laureates |accessdate=2008-04-07 |publisher=[[Council for Secular Humanism]]}}</ref> and a fellow of the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/about/fellows.html |title=The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry - Fellows |accessdate=2008-04-07 |publisher=[[The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]}}</ref> In 2003, he signed ''[[Humanism and Its Aspirations]]'', published by the [[American Humanist Association]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/3/HMsigners.htm |title=Humanism and Its Aspirations - Notable Signers |accessdate=2008-04-07 |publisher=[[American Humanist Association]]}}</ref>

In his 1991 essay "[[Viruses of the Mind]]" (from which the term ''faith-sufferer'' originated), he suggested that [[memetics|memetic theory]] might analyse and explain the phenomenon of religious belief and some of the common characteristics of religions, such as the belief that punishment awaits non-believers. According to Dawkins, faith, being belief that is not based on evidence, is one of the world's great evils. He claims it to be analogous to the smallpox virus, though more difficult to eradicate.<ref name="Is Science a Religion?">{{cite web
| author=Dawkins, Richard | date=January/February 1997 | url=http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/dawkins.html | title =Is Science a Religion? | accessdate=2008-03-15 | publisher = American Humanist Association}}</ref> In 2003, The [[Atheist Alliance International]] instituted the [[Richard Dawkins Award]] in his honour. Dawkins is well-known for his contempt for religious extremism, from [[Islamist terrorism]]<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |title=Religion's misguided missiles |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4257777,00.htm |publisher=The Guardian |date=[[September 15]], [[2001]] |accessdate=2008-04-13 }}</ref> to [[Christian fundamentalism]], but he has also argued with liberal believers and religious scientists,<ref name=miller/> from biologists [[Kenneth R. Miller|Kenneth Miller]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discover.com/issues/sep-05/features/darwins-rottweiler/ |title=Darwin's Rottweiler |accessdate=2008-03-22 |author=Hall, Stephen S. |date=2005-08-09 |publisher=Discover magazine}}</ref> and [[Francis Collins (geneticist)|Francis Collins]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132-1,00.html |title=God Vs. Science |accessdate=2008-04-07 |author=Biema, David Van |date=[[November 5]], [[2006]] |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] }}</ref> to theologians [[Alister McGrath]] and [[Richard Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth|Richard Harries]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/rootofevil.html |title=The Root of All Evil? |accessdate=2008-04-13 |author=Dawkins, Richard |year=2006 |publisher=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref> Dawkins has stated that his opposition to religion is twofold, claiming it to be both a source of conflict and a justification for belief without evidence.<ref>{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2006 |isbn=0-618-68000-4 |pages=319–323}}</ref> However, he describes himself as a "cultural Christian" and, in relation to [[Christmas]] traditions in the UK, says: "I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history. If there's any threat [to] these sorts of things, I think you will find it comes from rival religions and not from atheists."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7136682.stm |title=Dawkins: I'm a cultural Christian |accessdate=2008-03-01 |date=[[December 10]], [[2007]] |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> He suggests that "we owe Jesus the honour of separating his genuinely original and radical ethics from the supernatural nonsense", and proposes the slogan "Atheists for Jesus".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,20,Atheists-for-Jesus,Richard-Dawkins |title=Atheists for Jesus |accessdate=2008-03-15 |author=Dawkins, Richard |date=[[April 11]], [[2006]] |publisher=RichardDawkins.net}}</ref>

Dawkins believes that atheism is the logical extension of understanding evolution<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/178/story_17889_2.html |title=The Problem with God: Interview with Richard Dawkins (2) |accessdate=2008-04-11 |author=Sheahen, Laura |date=October, 2005 |publisher=Beliefnet.com}}</ref> and that religion is incompatible with science.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/transcript/dawk-frame.html |title=Interview with Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2008-04-12 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> In his 1986 book ''[[The Blind Watchmaker]]'', Dawkins wrote:

{{blockquote|
An atheist before Darwin could have said, following Hume: "I have no explanation for complex biological design. All I know is that God isn't a good explanation, so we must wait and hope that somebody comes up with a better one." I can't help feeling that such a position, though logically sound, would have left one feeling pretty unsatisfied, and that although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Blind Watchmaker |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=1986 |isbn=0-393-31570-3 |pages=6 }}</ref>
}}

Following the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], when asked how the world might have changed, Dawkins responded:

{{blockquote|
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/11/afghanistan.terrorism2 |title=Has the world changed? |accessdate=2006-01-29 |author=Dawkins, Richard |date=[[November 11]], [[2001]] |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref>
}}

Dawkins continues to be a prominent figure in contemporary public debate on issues relating to science and religion, especially since his 2006 book ''[[The God Delusion]]'', which has achieved greater sales figures worldwide than any of his other works to date. Its success has been seen by many as indicative of a change in the contemporary cultural [[zeitgeist]], central to a recent rise in the popularity of atheistic literature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200707160152.html |title=The Death of Religion And Rise of Atheism in the West |accessdate=2008-03-15 |author=Odoyo, Peter |date=[[July 16]], [[2007]] |publisher=[[The Nation]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010341 |title=The New New Atheism |accessdate=2008-03-15 |author=Burkowitz, Peter |date=[[July 16]], [[2007]] |publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> ''The God Delusion'' was praised by many intellectuals including [[Nobel Prize]]-winning chemist Sir [[Harold Kroto]], [[United States|American]] psychologist [[Steven Pinker]], and Nobel Prize-winning biologist [[James D. Watson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/godDelusionReviews |title=The God Delusion - Reviews |accessdate=2008-04-08 |author= |date= |work= |publisher=RichardDawkins.net }}</ref> In the book, Dawkins argues that being an atheist is nothing one should be ashamed about; instead, it is something to be proud of, "standing tall to face the far horizon". He states that it indicates a "healthy" independence of mind.<ref name="The God Delusion, 3">{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |publisher= |location= |isbn=0-618-68000-4 |pages=3 }}</ref> He sees education and [[Consciousness raising|consciousness-raising]] as the primary tools in opposing what he considers to be religious dogma and indoctrination.<ref name="belief interview"/><ref name="bright">{{cite web |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html |title=The future looks bright |accessdate=2008-03-13 |author=Dawkins, Richard |date=[[June 21]], [[2003]] |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name="education"/> These tools include the fight against certain stereotypes, and he has adopted the term ''[[brights movement|Bright]]'' as a way of associating positive public connotations with those who possess a [[Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalistic]] worldview.<ref name="bright"/> Dawkins notes that feminists have succeeded in arousing widespread embarrassment at the routine use of "he" instead of "she". Similarly, he suggests, a phrase such as "Catholic child" or "Muslim child" should be considered just as socially absurd as, for instance, "Marxist child": children should not be classified based on their parents' ideological beliefs.<ref name="bright"/> According to Dawkins, there is no such thing as a Christian child or a Muslim child.<ref name="The God Delusion, 3"/>

In January 2006, Dawkins presented a two-part television documentary entitled ''[[The Root of All Evil?]]'', addressing what he sees as the malignant influence of religion on society. The title itself is one in which Dawkins did not have a say and with which he has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Jeremy Vine Show |publisher=[[BBC Radio 2]] |date=[[January 5]], [[2006]] |accessdate=2008-04-11 }}</ref> Critics have said that the programme gave too much time to marginal figures and extremists, and that Dawkins' confrontational style did not help his cause;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/howard-jacobson/howard-jacobson-nothing-like-an-unimaginative-scientist-to-get-nonbelievers-running-back-to-god-523917.html |title=Nothing like an unimaginative scientist to get non-believers running back to God |accessdate=2007-03-27 |author=Jacobson, Howard |date=[[November 11]], [[2001]] |publisher=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/971452711.html?did=971452711&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date=Jan+19%2C+2006&author=RON+FERGUSON&pub=The+Herald&desc=What+a+lazy+way+to+argue+against+God |title=What a lazy way to argue against God |accessdate=2008-04-03 |author=Ferguson, Ron |date=[[January 19]], [[2006]] |publisher=The Herald}}</ref> Dawkins rejected these claims, citing the number of moderate religious broadcasts in everyday media as providing a suitable balance to the extremists in the programmes. He further remarked that someone who is deemed an "extremist" in a religiously moderate country, may well be considered "mainstream" in a religiously conservative one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200601300002 |title=Diary - Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2007-03-25 |author=Dawkins, Richard |date=[[January 30]], [[2006]] |publisher=New Statesman}}</ref> The unedited recordings of Dawkins' conversations with Alister McGrath and Richard Harries, including material unused in the broadcast version, have been made available online by the [[Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,1212,Richard-Dawkins-and-Alister-McGrath,Root-of-All-Evil-Uncut-Interviews |title=Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath Root of All Evil? Uncut Interviews |date=[[May 31]], [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-10-10 |publisher=RichardDawkins.net}}</ref>

Oxford theologian Alister McGrath maintains that Dawkins is "ignorant" of [[Christian theology]], and therefore unable to engage religion and faith intelligently.<ref>{{cite book |last= McGrath |first=Alister |authorlink=Alister McGrath |title=Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life |year=2004 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |location=Oxford, England |isbn=1-405-12538-1 |pages=81}}</ref> In reply, Dawkins asks "do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in [[leprechaun]]s?",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/articleComments,1647,Do-you-have-to-read-up-on-leprechology-before-disbelieving-in-them,Richard-Dawkins-The-Independent,page27 |title=Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them? |accessdate=2007-11-14 |author=Dawkins, Richard |date=[[September 17]], [[2007]] |work=RichardDawkins.net }}</ref> and—in the paperback edition of ''The God Delusion''—he refers to the [[United States|American]] biologist [[PZ Myers]], who has satirized this line of argument as "[[Pharyngula (blog)#The Courtier's Reply|The Courtier's Reply]]".<ref name='Pharyngula 2006-12-24'> {{cite web |url=http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/12/the_courtiers_reply.php |title=The Courtier's Reply |accessdate=2007-11-14 |author=Myers, PZ |date=[[December 24]], [[2006]] | work=[[Pharyngula (blog)|Pharyngula]]}}</ref> Dawkins avers that Christian theology is vacuous, and that the only area of theology that might command his attention would be arguments to demonstrate [[Existence of God|God's existence]]. Dawkins also criticised McGrath for providing no argument to support his own beliefs, other than that they cannot be disproved.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/features/daily-features/article2241900.ece |title=Religious persuasion |accessdate=2008-03-04 |author=Cole, Judith |date=[[February 06]], [[2007]] |publisher=The Belfast Telegraph}}</ref> Dawkins had an extended debate with McGrath at the 2007 ''[[Sunday Times]]'' Literary Festival.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/podcasts/books/article1570989.ece |title=Richard Dawkins at The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival |accessdate=2008-03-04 |author=Cole, Judith |date=[[March 26]], [[2007]] |work=The Times}}</ref>

Another Christian philosopher, [[Keith Ward]], explores similar themes in his 2006 book ''[[Is Religion Dangerous?]]'', arguing against the view of Dawkins and others that religion is socially dangerous. Criticism of ''The God Delusion'' has come from philosophers such as Professor John Cottingham of the [[University of Reading]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/reviews/312 |title=Flawed case for the prosecution |accessdate=2008-03-04 |author=Cole, Judith |date=[[October 19]], [[2006]] |work=The Tablet}}</ref> Other commentators, including [[ethicist]] and [[academia|academic]] [[Margaret Somerville]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/aiming-for-knockout-blow-in-god-wars/2007/05/24/1179601500045.html |title=Aiming for knockout blow in god wars |accessdate=2007-05-27 |author=Huxley, John |date=[[May 24]], [[2007]] |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald }}</ref> have suggested that Dawkins "overstates the case against religion",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/202/story_20279_1.html |title=Does God Believe in Richard Dawkins? |author=Easterbrook, Gregg |publisher=Beliefnet |accessdate=2007-05-26}}</ref> particularly its role in human conflict. Many of Dawkins' defenders, however, claim that critics generally misunderstand his real point. During a debate on Radio 3 Hong Kong, David Nicholls, writer and president of the [[Atheist Foundation of Australia]], reiterated Dawkins' sentiments that religion is an "unnecessary" aspect of global problems.<ref>{{cite web| title = Is God a Delusion? | publisher=Radio 3, Hong Kong | date=[[April 04]], [[2007]]| url=http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio3/backchat/20070404.html}}</ref>

Dawkins argues that "the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other".<ref>{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2006 |isbn=0-618-68000-4 |pages=50}}</ref> He disagrees with [[Stephen Jay Gould]]'s principle of [[Stephen_Jay_Gould#Nonoverlapping_Magisteria_.28NOMA.29|nonoverlapping magisteria]] (NOMA) and with similar ideas proposed by English astrophysicist [[Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow|Martin Rees]] regarding the coexistence of science and religion without conflict, calling the former "a purely political ploy to win middle-of-the-road religious people to the science camp".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132-3,00.html |title=God vs. Science |accessdate=2008-04-03 |date=[[November 5]], [[2006]] |author=Van Biema, David |publisher=[[Time (Magazine)|Time]]}}</ref>

Rees has suggested that Dawkins' attack on mainstream religion is unhelpful,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/hay2007/story/0,,2089947,00.html |title=Scientists divided over alliance with religion |accessdate=2008-03-17 |author=Jha, Alok |date=[[May 29]], [[2007]] |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref> and [[Robert Winston]] has alleged that Dawkins "brings science into disrepute".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/news.asp?year=&id=5057 |title=Science in the News - Monday 21 August |accessdate=2008-03-17 |date=[[August 21]], [[2007]] |publisher=The Royal Society}}</ref> Regarding Rees' claim in his book ''Our Cosmic Habitat'' that "such questions lie beyond science", Dawkins asks "what expertise can theologians bring to deep cosmological questions that scientists cannot?"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_2.html |title=When Religion Steps on Science's Turf |accessdate=2008-04-03 |author=Dawkins, Richard |year=2006 |publisher=Free Inquiry magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2006 |isbn=0-618-68000-4 |pages=55–56}}</ref> Elsewhere, Dawkins has written that "there's all the difference in the world between a belief that one is prepared to defend by quoting evidence and logic, and a belief that is supported by nothing more than tradition, authority or revelation."<ref name="Is Science a Religion?"/>
Of "good scientists who are sincerely religious", Dawkins names [[Arthur Peacocke]], [[Russell Stannard]], [[John Polkinghorne]] and [[Francis Collins (geneticist)|Francis Collins]], but says "I remain baffled ... by their belief in the details of the Christian religion."<ref>{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2006 |isbn=0-618-68000-4 |pages=99 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/profile/story/0,11109,1682655,00.html |title=Richard Dawkins: Beyond belief |accessdate=2008-04-03 |date=[[January 10]], [[2006]] |author=Crace, John |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name=miller/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/7/story_762_1.html |title=Double-Dealing in Darwin |accessdate=2008-04-03 |year=2000 |author=Ruse, Michael |publisher=Beliefnet}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/belief/scripts/dawkins.shtml |title=Belief - radio interview |accessdate=2008-04-03 |year=2004 |publisher=BBC Radio}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html |title=The Atheist: interview with Gordy Slack |accessdate=2008-04-03 |date=[[April 28]], [[2005]] |publisher=Salon.com}}</ref> He has said that the publication of ''The God Delusion'' is "probably the culmination" of his campaign against religion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2006/03/24/dawkins.shtml |date=[[March 24]], [[2006]] |title=BBC Oxford interview |accessdate=2007-05-25 |author=Bearder, Tim |publisher=FT Magazine}}</ref>

===Richard Dawkins Foundation===
{{Main|Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science}}
[[Image:Richard Dawkins Foundation Logo.png|thumb|75 px|right|RDFRS logo]]

In 2006, Dawkins created the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS), which seeks to advance the causes of [[rationalism]] and [[humanism]].<ref name="mission">{{cite web |url=http://www.richarddawkins.net/foundation,ourMission |title=Our Mission |accessdate=2006-11-17 |publisher=The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science}}</ref> The foundation is in developmental phase. It has been granted charitable status in the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]]. RDFRS plans to finance research on the [[psychology]] of belief and religion, finance scientific education programs and materials, and publicise and support [[secularity|secular]] [[charitable organization]]s.<ref name="mission"/> The foundation's trustees are Dawkins, research analyst Claire Enders, and active secularist Karen Owens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkinsfoundation.org/foundation,trustees |title=About the Foundation: Trustees |accessdate=2008-04-02 |publisher=The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science}}</ref>

===Out Campaign===
{{Main|Out Campaign}}
[[Image:ScarletLetter.svg|left|thumb|50px|The Scarlet Letter A]]
Dawkins founded the Out Campaign in 2007 to encourage atheists worldwide to declare their stance publicly and proudly.<ref name="rd-out-annouce">{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,1471,The-Out-Campaign,Richard-Dawkins |title=The Out Campaign (original announcement) |accessdate=2008-04-01 |date=2007-07-30 |publisher=RichardDawkins.net }}</ref> Inspired by the [[Gay Liberation|gay rights movement]], Dawkins hopes that atheists' identifying of themselves as such, and thereby increasing public awareness of how many people hold these views, will reduce the negative opinion of atheism among the religious majority.<ref name="suntimes"/> The campaign urges atheists to "come out", "reach out", "speak out", "keep out" (that is, to resist intrusion of religion into education and politics), and "stand out". To "stand out", the campaign encourages atheists to wear or display the movement's [[symbol]], a stylized red letter ''A'' called the "Scarlet Letter A",<ref>{{cite web |title=Richard Dawkins speech at Atheist Alliance International Convention 2007 |url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2936455252329399558&hl=en |work=The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science |author=Dawkins, Richard |publisher=RichardDawkins.net |date=2007-10-24 |accessdate=2008-04-01}}</ref> an ironic reference to ''[[The Scarlet Letter]]'' by [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]].

===Other fields===
[[Image:Richard Dawkin Kepler Talk.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Dawkins talking at [[Kepler's Books]], [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]], [[California]], [[October 29]], [[2006]].]]
In his role as professor for public understanding of science, Dawkins has been a harsh critic of [[pseudoscience]] and [[alternative medicine]]. His 1998 book ''[[Unweaving the Rainbow]]'' takes [[England|English]] poet [[John Keats]]' accusation that, by explaining the [[rainbow]], [[Isaac Newton]] had diminished its beauty, and argues for the opposite conclusion. In the book, Dawkins suggested that the deep space, the billions of years of life's evolution, and the microscopic workings of biology and heredity contain more beauty and wonder than do "myths" and "pseudoscience".<ref>{{cite book |title=Unweaving The Rainbow |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=1998 |publisher=Penguin |location=United Kingdom |isbn=0-618-05673-4 |pages=4–7}}</ref> Dawkins wrote a foreword to [[John Diamond (journalist)|John Diamond]]'s posthumously published ''Snake Oil'', a book devoted to debunking alternative medicine, in which he asserted that alternative medicine was harmful, if only because it distracted patients from more successful, conventional treatments, and gave people false hopes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations |last=Diamond |first=John |year=2001 |publisher=Vintage |location=United Kingdom |isbn=0-099-42833-4}}</ref> Dawkins states that "there is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work."<ref>{{cite book |title=A Devil's Chaplain |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2003 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=United States |isbn=0-618-33540-4 |pages=58}}</ref>

Dawkins has expressed concern about the [[exponential growth]] of the planet's human [[population]], and about the matter of [[overpopulation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.optusnet.com.au/exponentialist/Dawkins.htm |title=Dawkins: An exponentialist view |accessdate=2006-03-31 |date=[[January 21]], [[2006]] |author=Coutts, David A. |publisher=Exponentialist Online}}</ref> In ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'', he briefly mentions exponential population growth, giving the example of [[Latin America]], whose population, at the time the book was written, was doubling every 40&nbsp;years. He is critical of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] attitudes to [[family planning]] and [[population control]], stating that leaders who forbid [[birth control|contraception]], and "express a preference for 'natural' methods of population limitation" will get just such a method in the form of [[starvation]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Selfish Gene |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |edition=2nd ed. |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=0-19-286092-5 |pages=213}}</ref>

As a supporter of the ''[[Great Ape Project]]''—a movement to extend certain moral and legal [[right]]s to all [[Hominidae|great apes]]—Dawkins contributed an article entitled "Gaps in the Mind" to the ''Great Ape Project'' book edited by [[Paola Cavalieri]] and [[Peter Singer]]. In this essay, he criticises contemporary society's moral attitudes as being based on a "discontinuous, [[speciesism|speciesist]] imperative".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Great Ape Project |coauthors=Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer |year=1993 |publisher=Fourth Estate |location=United Kingdom |isbn=0-312-1181-8}}</ref>

Dawkins also regularly comments in newspapers and [[blog|weblogs]] on contemporary political questions; opinions expressed include opposition to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |title=Bin Laden's victory |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/mar/22/iraq.usa |publisher=The Guardian |date=[[March 22]], [[2003]] |accessdate=2008-03-15}}</ref> the [[UK Trident programme|British nuclear deterrent]], and the actions of U.S. President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |title=While we have your attention, Mr President... |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/18/usa.politics1 |publisher=The Guardian |date=[[November 18]], [[2003]] |accessdate=2008-03-16 }}</ref> Several such articles were included in ''[[A Devil's Chaplain]]'', an anthology of writings about science, religion and politics.

In the 2007 TV documentary ''[[The Enemies of Reason]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/E/enemies_of_reason/ |title=The Enemies of Reason |accessdate=2008-04-13 |year=August, 2007 |publisher=Channel 4}}</ref> Dawkins discusses what he sees as the dangers of abandoning critical thought and rationale based upon scientific evidence. He specifically references [[astrology]], [[spiritualism]], [[dowsing]], alternative faiths, [[alternative medicine]], and [[homeopathy]]. He also discusses how the [[Internet]] can be used to spread religious hatred and conspiracy theories with scant attention to evidence-based reasoning.

==Awards and recognition==
[[Image:Deschner Dawkins.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Dawkins receiving the Deschner Prize in [[Frankfurt]], [[October 12]], [[2007]], from [[Karlheinz Deschner]].]]
Dawkins was awarded a [[Doctor of Science]] by the University of Oxford in 1989. He holds [[Honorary degree|honorary doctorates]] in science from the [[University of Westminster]], [[Durham University]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Durham salutes science, Shakespeare and social inclusion |url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/allnews/?itemno=3972 |publisher=Durham News & Events Service |date=[[August 26]], [[2005]] |accessdate=2006-04-11}}</ref> and the [[University of Hull]], and an honorary doctorate from the [[Open University]] and from the [[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]].<ref name=cv/> He also holds honorary doctorates of letters from the [[University of St Andrews]] and the [[Australian National University]], and was elected Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]] in 1997 and the [[Royal Society]] in 2001.<ref name=cv/>

In 1987, Dawkins received a [[Royal Society of Literature]] award, and a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' Literary Prize for his book, ''The Blind Watchmaker''. In the same year, he received a ''Sci. Tech'' Prize for Best Television Documentary Science Programme of the Year, for the BBC ''[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]]'' episode entitled ''The Blind Watchmaker''.<ref name=cv/>

His other awards have included the [[Zoological Society of London]] Silver Medal (1989), the [[Michael Faraday Award]] (1990), the Nakayama Prize (1994), the Humanist of the Year Award (1996), the fifth [[International Cosmos Prize]] (1997), the [[Kistler Prize]] (2001), the [[Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic]] (2001), and the Bicentennial Kelvin Medal of [[The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow]] (2002).<ref name=cv/>

Dawkins topped ''[[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect]]'' magazine's 2004 list of the top 100 public British intellectuals, as decided by the readers, receiving twice as many votes as the runner-up.<ref>{{cite news |title=Q&A: Richard Dawkins |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3935757.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=[[July 29]], [[2004]] |accessdate=2008-03-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=6768&issue=480 |title=Public Intellectuals Poll |accessdate=2008-03-09 |author=Herman, David |year=August, 2004 |work= |publisher=''Prospect'' magazine}}</ref> In 2005, the [[Hamburg]]-based [[Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S.|Alfred Toepfer Foundation]] awarded him its [[Shakespeare Prize]] in recognition of his "concise and accessible presentation of scientific knowledge". He won the [[Lewis Thomas Prize|Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science]] for 2006 and the [[Galaxy British Book Awards]] Author of the Year Award for 2007.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Publishing News | url = http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/pnbb_winners2007.asp?#3 | title = Galaxy British Book Awards - Winners & Shortlists 2007 | date = 2007 |accessmonthday = [[April 21]] | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> In the same year, he was listed by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616137,00.html |title=Time Top 100 |accessdate=2008-03-02 |author=Behe, Michael |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]}}</ref> and was awarded the Deschner Prize, named after [[Karlheinz Deschner]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hpd-online.de/node/2010 |title=Deschner-Preis an Richard Dawkins |accessdate=2008-04-04 |author=Stiftung, Giordano Bruno |date=[[May 28]], [[2007]] |publisher=Humanisticher Pressedienst}}</ref>

Since 2003, the [[Atheist Alliance International]] has awarded a prize during its annual conference, honoring an outstanding atheist whose work has done most to raise public awareness of atheism during that year. It is known as the "Richard Dawkins Award", in honor of Dawkins' own work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html|title=The atheist|publisher=Salon|date=2005-04-30|first=Gordy|last=Slack|accessdate=2007-08-03}}</ref>

==Publications==
===Books===
====As sole author====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! 1st Ed
! 2nd Ed
! 3rd Ed
! ISBN
! Audio
! Audio ISBN
|-
| ''[[The Selfish Gene]]''
| 1976
| 1989
| 2006
| ISBN 0-19-286092-5
|
|
|-
| ''[[The Extended Phenotype]]''
| 1982
| 1999
|
| ISBN 0-19-288051-9
|
|
|-
| ''[[The Blind Watchmaker]]''
| 1986
| 1996
| 2006
| ISBN 0-393-31570-3
|
|
|-
| ''[[River out of Eden]]''
| 1995
|
|
| ISBN 0-465-06990-8
| 2000
| ISBN 0-7528-3985-3
|-
| ''[[Climbing Mount Improbable]]''
| 1996
|
|
| ISBN 0-393-31682-3
|
|
|-
| ''[[Unweaving the Rainbow]]''
| 1998
|
|
| ISBN 0-618-05673-4
|
|
|-
| ''[[A Devil's Chaplain]]''
| 2003
|
|
| ISBN 0-618-33540-4
|
|
|-
| ''[[The Ancestor's Tale]]''
| 2004
|
|
| ISBN 0-618-00583-8
| 2005
| ISBN 0-7528-7321-0
|-
| ''[[The God Delusion]]''
| 2006
|
|
| ISBN 0-618-68000-4
| 2006
| ISBN 1-84657-037-9
|-
|}
Dawkins' next book, which will marshal empirical evidence supporting the [[evolution|theory of evolution]], is scheduled to be published in the [[United States]] by [[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]] on [[November 24]], [[2009]], the 150th anniversary of the publication of [[Charles Darwin]]'s seminal ''[[On the Origin of Species]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.observer.com/2008/richard-dawkins-follow-god-delusion-sold-free-press-3-5-million |title=Richard Dawkins' Follow-Up to God Delusion Sold to Free Press for $3.5 Million |accessdate=2008-03-04 |author=Neyfakh, Leon |date=[[February 7]], [[2008]] |publisher=The New York Observer}}</ref> <!-- PLEASE NOTE: The article linked to here is incorrect about the title of Dawkins' next book. It will NOT be "Only A Theory?", as it was discovered that this title had already been used for a book by Kenneth Miller -->

====As sole editor====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! 1st Ed
! 2nd Ed
! 3rd Ed
! ISBN
! Audio
! Audio ISBN
|-
| ''[[The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing]]''
| 2008
|
|
| ISBN 0-199-21680-0
|
|
|-
|}

===Selected essays===
* [[Viruses of the Mind]] [http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Dawkins/viruses-of-the-mind.html (online)] (1993) &ndash; Religion as a mental virus.
* [http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/Dawkins/Work/Articles/1995-12romance_in_stars.htm The Real Romance in the Stars] (1995) &ndash; A critical view of [[astrology]].
* [http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Articles/emptiness_of_theology.shtml The Emptiness of Theology] (1998) &ndash; A critical view of [[theology]].
* [http://www.forbes.com/asap/1999/1004/235_print.html Snake Oil and Holy Water] (1999) &ndash; Dawkins claims that there is no convergence occurring between science and theism.
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,919538,00.html Bin Laden's Victory] (2003) &ndash; [[The Guardian]] editorial arguing [[Osama bin Laden]] was the real victor of the [[Iraq War]].
* [http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=dawkins_24_5&back=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.secularhumanism.org%2Flib%2Flist.php%3Fpublication%3Dfi%26vol%3D24 What Use is Religion?] (2004) &ndash; Suggests that religion may have no survival value other than to itself.
* [http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=6467 Race and Creation] (2004) &ndash; On [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], its usage and a theory of how it evolved.
* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1416876,00.html The giant tortoise's tale], [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1425412,00.html The turtle's tale] and [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1429962,00.html The lava lizard's tale] (2005) &ndash; A series of three articles written after a visit to the [[Galápagos Islands]].
See also: [http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/papers.shtml Papers and commentary by Richard Dawkins] (no longer maintained) and [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins Dawkins' ''Huffington Post'' articles].

===Documentaries and debates===
{{col-start}}
{{col-3}}
*''[[Nice Guys Finish First]]'' (1987)
*''[[The Blind Watchmaker]]'' (1987)
{{col-3}}
*''[[Growing Up In The Universe]]'' (1991)
*''[[Break the Science Barrier]]'' (1996)
{{col-3}}
*''[[The Root of All Evil?]]'' (2006)
*''[[The Enemies of Reason]]'' (2007)
{{col-end}}

On [[September 30]], [[2007]], Dawkins, [[Daniel Dennett]], [[Sam Harris (author)|Sam Harris]] and [[Christopher Hitchens]] discussed their views on [[atheism]] and [[religion]], amongst themselves. The talk was filmed and entitled ''Discussions with Richard Dawkins, Episode One: The Four Horsemen''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,2025,THE-FOUR-HORSEMEN,Discussions-With-Richard-Dawkins-Episode-1-RDFRS |title=Discussions with Richard Dawkins, Episode One: The Four Horsemen |accessdate=2008-03-08 |publisher=RichardDawkins.net }}</ref> Episode Two in the series, a short segment of which has already been released,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,2389,Discussion-on-PZ-Myers-being-expelled-from-Expelled,Richard-Dawkins-PZ-Myers |title= Discussion on PZ Myers being expelled from Expelled |accessdate=2008-03-27 |publisher=RichardDawkins.net }}</ref> will feature a 90-minute conversation between Dawkins and [[PZ Myers]].

===Further reading===
'''General books about Dawkins'''

* Ed Sexton (2001) ''Dawkins and the Selfish Gene'' (ISBN 1-84046-238-8) &ndash; A short summary and defence of Dawkins' ideas.
* Kim Sterelny (2001) ''Dawkins vs Gould: Survival of the Fittest'' (ISBN 1-84046-249-3) &ndash; Debates on evolutionary theory between Dawkins and [[Stephen Jay Gould]].
* [[Alan Grafen]] and [[Mark Ridley (zoologist)|Mark Ridley]] (eds.) (2006) ''[[Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think]]'' (ISBN 0-19-929116-0) &ndash; An anthology of 25 essays on Dawkins and his work.

'''Books by theists critical of Dawkins'''

* [[Alister McGrath]] (2005) ''[[Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life]]'' (ISBN 1-4051-2538-1) &ndash; A critique of Dawkins' attack on theistic religion.
* [[Keith Ward]] (2006) ''[[Is Religion Dangerous?]]'' (ISBN 978-0745952628) &ndash; A critique of Dawkins' suggestion that religion does more harm than good.
* [[Alister McGrath]] (2007) ''[[The Dawkins Delusion?]]'' (ISBN 0-281-05927-6) &ndash; A critical response to Dawkins' book ''The God Delusion''.
* [[Scott Hahn]] and Benjamin Wiker (2008) ''Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins' Case Against God'' (ISBN 978-1931018487) – A philosophical critique of ''The God Delusion'' by Catholic theologians.

See also: [http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Books/index.shtml List of books by and about Richard Dawkins] and [http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/biblio.shtml Richard Dawkins Bibliography] at the Richard Dawkins University of Oxford website.

== Notes ==
<div class="references-small">
'''a.''' {{Note_label|a|a|none}} [[W. D. Hamilton]] hugely influenced Dawkins and the influence can be seen throughout Dawkins' book ''The Selfish Gene''.<ref name="belief interview"/> They became friends at Oxford and following Hamilton's death in 2000, Dawkins wrote his obituary and organised a [[Secularity|secular]] memorial service.<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Dawkins |title=Obituary by Richard Dawkins |url=http://www.unifr.ch/biol/ecology/hamilton/hamilton.html#Dawkins |publisher=The Independent |date=[[October 3]], [[2000]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 }}</ref>

'''b.''' {{Note_label|b|b|none}} The debate ended with the motion "That the doctrine of creation is more valid than the theory of evolution" being defeated by 198 votes to 15, according to a report reproduced on the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] site. However, the voice of the teller of the vote on the video is not clear enough to discern the exact number of persons in support of the motion.<ref>{{cite web | title = 1986 Oxford Union Debate: Richard Dawkins, John Maynard Smith | publisher = RichardDawkins.net | url = http://richarddawkins.net/article,721,1986-Oxford-Union-Debate,Richard-Dawkins-John-Maynard-Smith | accessdate = 2007-05-10}} Debate downloadable as MP3 files.</ref>
</div>

==References==
<!--See http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.richarddawkins.net Official website]
* [http://www.richarddawkinsfoundation.org The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science]
* [http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/index.shtml The Current Simonyi Professor: Richard Dawkins]
* [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/113 TED Talks: Richard Dawkins Speech] – An atheist's call to arms
* {{imdb name|id=1468026|name=Richard Dawkins}}
* [http://www.unpronounceable.com/dawkins/ Richard Dawkins Resource Page] – links to videos that include Richard Dawkins, with thumbnails and descriptions.
* [http://community.livejournal.com/richarddawkins/profile Livejournal community dedicated to discussing Dawkins' ideas and activities]

{{Richard Dawkins}}

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Revision as of 19:44, 19 April 2008

Richard Dawkins
Dawkins at a lecture in Reykjavík, Iceland,
June 24, 2006.
Born (1941-03-26) March 26, 1941 (age 83)
Nairobi, Kenya
NationalityBritish
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
Known forAdvocacy of atheism and rationalism
Criticism of religion
Gene-centred view of evolution
Meme
AwardsZoological Society Silver Medal (1989)
Faraday Award (1990)
Kistler Prize (2001)
Scientific career
FieldsEthologist and evolutionary biologist
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley
University of Oxford
Doctoral advisorNikolaas Tinbergen
Doctoral studentsAlan Grafen, Mark Ridley
Notes
Fellow of the Royal Society.

Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer. He is going to Hell for denying the existence of Almighty GOD and criticising the Faith.

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