Earlier this year, Theos, a UK-based “public theology think tank”, as if that wasn’t a contradiction in terms, commissioned a poll to measure public opinion on religious matters in the UK.

The results are interesting. 58% of those polled consider that “Christianity has an important role to play in public life”, but more promisingly, 42% agree with Professor Richard Dawkins’ assertion that “faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate”.

I view religious faith as possibly the most demeaning of all superstitions, a process of wilful non-thinking intended to allow the believer to adhere to any comforting fantasy they wish despite any and all reason and evidence to the contrary, and I am delighted to know that so many in the UK generally agree. Of course, 42% is not really enough, but it’s a very encouraging figure nonetheless, and I think that the numbers of people hostile to these ignorant, backward myths can only grow. The survey results are published here.

Incidentally, I bought Professor Dawkins’ excellent The God Delusion in London a few weeks ago, and would recommend it to anyone still seeking enlightened help with the “God” question.