Oh, Thank you, Your Ass-Holiness....

[OnlyNatural]

I disagree. There is no such thing as a "mild" molestation, it's all a felony and for good reason. The fact that Dawkins does minimize it is apparent by his view that it is less harmful to a child than the teaching of religion (which of course is not a felony because it harms the child in no way). It's disgusting that someone would think that the sexual abuse of a child is better for a child than teaching them that they should love their neighbor and do unto others as they want done to themselves. If you can't see that then I don't know what to tell you.

Obviously there are varying degrees of inappropriate sexual contact. I'm not saying that any kind of molestation is acceptable (it's not, no matter how mild), but the psychological harm caused by it can vary a lot with the severity of molestation. Like Moros said above, you're seeing the world in black-and-white (binary) terms. Real life is not that simple.

Religious teachings DO cause psychological harm to some children. Teaching a child to be terrified of hell, to feel guilty about personal thoughts and natural impulses, to be ashamed of original sin, to believe that they are constantly being watched and judged by an all-powerful authority... these ideas can really damage some people. Even if they eventually turn away from religion, they're haunted by the fear of hell and the oppressive sense of guilt and shame. This is what Dawkins is talking about when he says that the psychological harm of religious teachings is worse, in many ways, to the harm caused by his PERSONAL embarrassing experience of being mildly fondled. Obviously there are also cases of molestation that cause much worse psychological harm than the guilt and fear of religion. Each case must be considered separately.

You're incredibly naive if you think that teaching religion to children is only about 'love thy neighbor' and 'do unto others.' Looking at it that way only makes you feel better about being religious. Or maybe this feel-good version is your personal experience, but that doesn't mean it's everyone's experience.