Gullibiligy

Dicky Dawkins is back on our TV screens this week. The man who preaches that religion is "like sucking a dummy" and should at best only be "practiced by consenting adults in private" had, it's fair to say, a mixed critical response to his attempt to dispense entirely with academic theology (but still sold a million copies), yet he returns now to bashing what are clearly his more natural foes: the rank and file of popular irrationalists: the superstitious masses.

So bring on the astrologers, tarot-readers, homeopaths, spirit mediums and dowsers...and Deepak Chopra. All The Enemies of Reason and worthy of the famously withering Dawkins scorn. ( See here the appropriate facial expression)

Dawkins thinks it is an utter disgrace that 25% of the British public believe in astrology, apparently more than any single established religion. Of Scientology he says “It’s purely made-up. It just taps into some ‘gullibiligy’. They find some film star or somebody like Tom Cruise or whatever his name is who’s thick as two short planks and he becomes a sort of advertisement.” And as for homeopathy...

“I say to doctors who use homeopathy: if you can identify this you’d have discovered a whole new force in physics. Either there is no effect, in which case you shouldn’t be charging people money, or there is an effect, in which case you should prove it and win the Nobel prize.”