Patriotism

[Confused Ape]

I agree that patriotism is just as dangerous as religion but any kind of 'ism' can be dangerous.

I've come across a few atheists who turned atheism into a personal ideology and who tried to rally other atheists to their cause. "Atheists should do this, atheists shouldn't do that and it's every atheist's duty to stamp out religion." They insisted that atheists shouldn't celebrate Christmas so they must have been horrified when Richard Dawkins said he's a cultural Christian.

DawkinsDawkins: I'm a cultural Christian

Prof Dawkins, who has frequently spoken out against creationism and religious fundamentalism, replied: "I'm not one of those who wants to stop Christian traditions.

"This is historically a Christian country. I'm a cultural Christian in the same way many of my friends call themselves cultural Jews or cultural Muslims.

"So, yes, I like singing carols along with everybody else. I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history.

For myself, I think the real danger is the human tendency for rabid fanaticism. Humans can be rabidly fanatical about anything including TV shows. I've come across internet flame wars between fans declaring "My favourite show is the best ever and your favourite show sucks."