h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Whilst this is well argued piece - it seems to be that the writer holds some personal grudge against social sciences, and as such it appears fairly one-sided. In my limited experience of academic social sciences, this perceived prejudice against atheism doesn't exist.

That said, many social sciences do however try and descriptively analyse faith and religion - and many come to conclusions which are critical of it. However I would argue that these are for solid reasons. Firstly, there's the historical analysis which describes how religions came about, and have been used. Then there's the philosophical approach. Faith requires believing something without evidence, and whilst it's impossible to prove either way whether or not god exists, it seems common sense to presume that he doesn't. Adults don't generally, for instance, believe in fairies, father christmas or Superman.

"Adults don't generally, for instance, believe in fairies, father christmas or Superman."

Ouch!

I neither believe nor disbelieve in god, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

However, I would argue that there are experiences which adults have which are labled 'spiritual', and that some adults choose to wrap those experiences around a being they call 'god'.

The existance of spiritual experiences is not doubted. What varies is how one interprets them. Ste has argued that spiritual experiences are just neurons firing in a particulare part of the brain, for example.
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My second response concerns the different ways in which people believe and disbelieve in things. No, adults dont believe in fairies, father Christmas or Superman, but the *way* in which most adults who believe in god believe is different from the way in which children believe in faries, Father Christmas and Superman. Check A937767 Though to be honest, I don't think any children these days actually do believe in those things. Though they may believe in the Force, Girl Power and that There Is No Spoon.

Finally, you are right, this is a grudge piece from Beryl, and one which may have a specific teacher as its target.

Unfortunately Beryl left almost immediately, and so the piece is raw in comparison with the others in the project. I like its energy though, and the irony it so ruthlessly exposes.

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