In this lively 9-minute interview, Dawkins discusses his new book, The God Delusion.

The interviewer, Jeremy Paxman, asked Dawkins what he intended to accomplish with his book.  Here’s Dawkins’ answer:

I hope to persuade . . . a substantial number of middle of the road people that there’s nothing wrong with a disbelief in God … there’s nothing outlandish about it.  It’s probably what they’re like anyway, whether or not they admit it to themselves.

What is the downside to religion?  For starters, it’s highly unlikely to be true, according to Dawkins. Why live a lie?  But Dawkins urges that religion presents actual dangers.  For instance, he points out that many of the followers of President Bush actually long for nuclear war (this is a point we’ve discussed at this site –many Christian fundamentalists are almost orgasmic about the coming end of the world, an event they claim to have figured out in extraordinary detail).

Dawkins addresses whether those scientists who are religious are religious in more than an “Einstein-ian sense” consisting of a recognition that the universe is a “deeply mysterious place” (Dawkins says no).  He also discusses what gets him personally “through the night” in the absence of any belief in God. 

I highly recommend viewing this interview.  Dawkins has a extraordinarily probing intellect, yet he is also highly cognizant of human limitations.  This is such a drastic change of pace from the pronouncement of many know-it-all fundamentalist preachers.