Is Britain a Christian country?

BBC1 19 February 2012
With Richard Dawkins and Andrew Copson of The British Humanist Association

[@SimosFunk]

The telegraph woman said "are we going to have state funded hospitals" I wonder if she even lives in the UK lol

[@SimosFunk]

@Google Are racist trash sure i agree in the usa state funding is shit

[@71espn]

@Google Are racist trash that's because your state is shit

[@syantikshinta3779]

Every country has majority then we can say decide it . Those secular doesn't mean have no religion. Secular means separating the politic and religion. Are we going to say those politician don't have religion?

[@MikkoRantalainen]

"Are we going to have state funded hospitals" I sure hope so! And schools. And army. And libraries. And roads. And basic income system.

[@Gryffster]

Note how Dawkins is patient and polite even when he's being shouted down by people who think he's so rude.

[@DavidAubin]

I know. It's crazy. I feel as though he's often the most polite person in the room and most others just talk over and basically deny any reasonable dialogue.

[@egenaWibble]

David Aubin It bemuses me that I hear many people state that he is very "bullish". I cannot agree - he's a perfectly concise gentleman.

[@rosejohnsonTao]

Gryffster Well thats because Richard Dawkins thinks with logic and rationality, while religious people tend to think with their emotional illogical side which causes irrational responses/behaviour.. As demonstrated here.

[@LemonMan91]

lloyd chan Where's your evidence for that claim?

[@Gryffster]

rose johnson Yup, and it freaks people out.

[@CYMRU548]

"When was the last time I threw a bomb?!"-Richard Dawkins is a legend!!

[@denverbritto5606]

Well when was the last time a christian fundamentalist threw a bomb in England? That's a stupid question, Christian fundamentalists in the UK talk like idiots, occasionally so does Dawkins.

[@nevanderson1164]

+Denver Britto Oh, so christianity is the only religion? All religion is bad, and Islam is christianity a few hundred years ago. There is still a lot of belief inspired violence and oppression perpetuated in the USA. Not to mention the endemic discrimination.

[@andreaskarlsson5251]

@@denverbritto5606 pretty sure the aya-tollah isnt christian, which was the thing Dawkind was responding to. 😆

[@Loccyster]

@Apostle Arome Osayi, my god could beat up your god.

[@aclark903]

@@Loccyster Good luck with that.

[@LordTurtleneck]

I love how much Richard Dawkins keeps pissing off those religious types.

[@gratefulapostate3123]

When you're deluded the truth is offensive to you.

[@tomsdottir]

Reminds me of those videos showing a Sumo wrestler fighting several toddlers at the same time.

[@andrewharper1609]

They deserve it.

[@NeillGuitars]

I laughed when she said "our language is the language of the Bible" I'm going to go to Britain sand see how many people are speaking Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

To be exact, the language of the Bible is Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. I'm pretty sure none of those languages are "our language" for most Brits. Most Brits who have actually read the Bible at all have used the English translation. And the King James Bible (KJB) was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611. I'm pretty sure English was already a language in England before that, so the language of Britain cannot possibly be of the Bible.

[@kamma44]

Half of the critics don't even understand what Professor Dawkins is trying to explain!

[@chaz9808]

that is the issue a lot of the time actually lol i remember dawkins was debating some bishop or something and he said that we probably were directly decended from neanderthals lol just ignorant

[@twingate2]

Charles Davis Actually ARCHbishop of Sydney George Pell. His ignorance of the evolution theory was sadly hilarious. :)

[@TheDragon9157]

did anyone get the feeling that the guy in the middle was leaning towards the atheist point of view?

[@floppymcdankus2905]

Well I think that's why it's funny I practically understand him and then these idiots are running around preaching utter shit to others and forcing it upon them

[@nevanderson1164]

+Twingate But his knowledge of child abuse is very good it seems.

[@zemas1712]

about 2000 years ago a womon had an affair, lied about it and things got way out of hand...

[@andej1238]

Ha ha

[@haewookkim254]

bingo

[@gaborszucs8717]

Zemas Moral of the story: don't lie, because you don't know what it might lead to. :D

[@leonagraca2239]

Zemas EMPTY

[@SteampunkHeretic]

She was also married to the village idiot.

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

Britain is a secular country and religion should play no part in public life what so ever.

[@AlanWattResistance]

Your last name doesn't sound very English.

[@robertturrell4816]

AWResistance neither does yours mr. resistance

[@AlanWattResistance]

Robert Turrell Hehe.

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

AWResistance and yet in my passport it says British citizen, who'd have thunk? Not that it's any of your business.

[@AlanWattResistance]

Alexander Stefanov British, as in citizen of the UK Corporation, but not English, as in Anglo-Saxon ethnicity.

[@tomconti2903]

I believe in sheep, they are the future.

[@wigster600]

They're adorably woolly as well :3

[@qwertylazerti]

wigster600 I'm assuming you two are members of the church of the woolly jumper? :)

[@oopie9532]

Agreed. One day, the world will be run by sheep. There will be world peace and fluffy sheep everywhere. Life will be good.

[@boscoboskovitch2183]

R U from New Zealand?

[@danyserf9863]

We are all sheep

[@Laudrengen]

That woman is just grasping at straws all day long

[@tracer740]

+Laudrengen - that gal in the red sweater?

[@dangoesforth]

We still have Hitchen's books, works and his legacy. We must remember him RIP Christopher Hitchens

[@monsieurpoisson8163]

This video is nearly 10 years old. It will be interesting to see the results of the 2021 census

[@matteoj226]

Every time RIchard Dawkins speaks I have to physically stop myself leaping to my feet and "FUCKING YES!!!" in sheer agreement. The truth does that to a man.

[@kratosstud19901]

the funny thing is that those "Christians" that were on the show would not be considered so by actual Christians that do believe in the Virgin birth and earth being 6000 years old

[@matteoj226]

Indeed Ricky. They take out more and more of the crazy stuff as they go along, but still do the whole praying thing. It's stupid really.

[@kratosstud19901]

But that's absurd. Then in reality they don't believe in "God" like they say they do. The infallibility of God and his words means that's it's the "WORD OF GOD". And God doesn't make mistakes.

[@matteoj226]

Exactly dude. Christians craftily wriggle out of it by claiming the bible is a 'metaphor' etc but as far as I know the Qu'ran is literally gods word. So when he said the things about the flying horses, the sex with children, the splitting of the moon, either you believe it or you're not muslim. Incredible.

[@kratosstud19901]

True. So true. And they say that God is really but those parts are just metaphors because ummmm reasons. Makes u laugh.

[@SideBerner]

Gotta love the bimbo in red. "Do you think Britain is a Christian country?" "Yes I do" "Why do you think that?" "Well uhhhh ummmm language, uhhhhhh ummmm churches on the corner uhhh."

[@joellukewarriorforjesusthe293]

Thats not very loving

[@makeitice40]

Here's one question for you, what do you think about England flag?

[@OHYS]

Why tf would call her that? Really cheapens anything you sau

[@TheBarser]

@@makeitice40 i think it is a bad copy of my country flag (Denmark). My nations flag came after the baltic crusades, and in a way I hate the story of it, but accept that is just how it is. It is our story for both good and bad. But if we unite again in Scandinavian we should totally use the norse raven banner.

[@MrteensmokingUK]

Oh my god Richard and the man next to him surrounded by ignorant people with films arguments

[@jomarvik6397]

The biggest problem in this debate is that none of the christians understand what Dawkins point is...

[@josefinenilsson8059]

They rarely do!

[@mism847]

What a surprise...

[@Conorp77]

The whole debate, Dawkins was like 'this guy on my right knows what's goin on'. Then, right near the end, he's like 'I believe in the resurrection' and Richard is like 'ZOMG :O no wayy' haha!

[@glossary90]

Haha spot on

[@holz_name]

9:50 Of course it's a smear tactic if you say that 300 years ego Dawkings ancestors were slave holders. So what? Maybe Dawkings grand-grand-...-grand parents were good Christians? The Bible explicitly endorsing slavery. It says: slaves be good servants to your masters. And the Old Testament describes how you get slaves.

[@holz_name]

If that would be so clear and easy then America would not have slaves in the first place, because it was founded on "Christian values" to quote some famous Christians. Fact is that during the abolitionist movement in the 1830's both sites (against and pro slavery) have used the bible to justify their arguments. My take on Christians is: Jesus taught that this life is not important anyway, so have faith and be a good slave because if you are good servant you will go to heaven. Also for the masters: be a good master to your slave, don't beat them too often (the Old Testament stated you can beat your slave as long as he or she don't die in 3 days). Also you can beat your children if they disobey you; and you can stone your wife. Because disobedience is one of the sins.

[@TeddyR24]

Daniel Allan Really? So stoning your wife and selling your daughter to slavery wasn't mentioned to be wrong in the commandments. Must be okay!

[@holz_name]

Duy Lam It was O.k. 2000 years ego when the gospels were written. That is the most obvious flaw in the argument that the bible is the unchanging word of god and that god is perfectly good and moral. And a strong argument that secular morality have long ego defeated the morals of the bible. Where the bible is still lacking behind secular morals is gay marriage, adopting of children for gay couples, abortion and contraception. The last pillars of Christians.

[@hadara69]

Holz Name You forgot vicarious atonement, the central doctrine of christianity. To me this explains a lot, like the high percentage of christians in American prisons, higher divorce rate among christians, most molested children, and teen pregnancies (and abortions, ironically). It's not more moral to do what you want because you believe we are all "born bad" and then ask Jesus to please forgive you, just so you can do it again the next day. That's just sick and morally irresponsible! But to many christians that's the biggest selling point. The Original sin myth is also the basis for the bible's misogyny and sexual repression which leads to many, many moral dilemmas, obviously.

[@denverbritto5606]

there were Christians on both sides of the slavery debate, the Abolitionism was chiefly inspired from Christianity rather than secular thought whereas the pro-slavery side was mainly justified by an economic basis

[@bakuya99]

She.. is so full of herself....... LOL if you are buying christmas presents and easter eggs this is a christian country x'D I LOL'ED SO HARD because that's not even christian those are stolen pagan holidays.

[@johnclewes8698]

Correct.

[@lolektrolek1632]

Get your facts straight because 19 people + you don't seem to know facts. The Celebrations of Easter Sunday and Christmas (the Birth of baby Jesus Christ) is in its core two fundamental and most important celebrations during liturgical year in Catholic and most Christians' religion. Another thing is that they now become totally distorted like marriages between homosexuals, the concept of family, human rights, etc You can find on youtube what's going on in Luton and some other parts of Brittain with regard to Islam. There may be a day you will miss this "stupid" Christianity

[@bakuya99]

***** That is correct

[@bakuya99]

lolek trolek That is incorrect.

[@Khalaxe]

I love how most British Christians have no clue what they even believe.

[@loganperry6407]

Max Eggscaliber I love your blanket statements

[@nevanderson1164]

+Ilju JANG I love how theists now call worship of god NOT Religion The thing is one of us is absolutely correct, by every measure and the other believes in invisible phantasms

[@samsonazuka5132]

Pentecostal Christians know very good what exactely we believe.Anglicans christians are those who don't know what they believe.Also UK isn't Christian country.But Caraibean (Haiti, Jamaica etc),Latin America and Sub-saharan Africa have got many devout Christian countries: www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/sub-saharan-africa/

[@hellboy6536]

@Ilju (Joe) JANG your scientific ignorance is showing.

[@andrewharper1609]

That's because most of us have their nonsense rammed down our throats by the school system instead of learning independently. When it's taught it's devoid of the education in philosophy a lot of its thinking stems from, taught selectively (because the Bible is not a good book let alone the good book) and popularly misrepresented by teachers who don't understand it.

[@Gravedigger.]

I love how relaxed Richard Dawkins is. He never gets upset or confrontational.

[@lexymordio1928]

The woman from the telegraph just admitted they cherry pick from the Bible meaning modern day Christians created their moral values without God. Why don't they just ditch God and the Bible already they can still have the morality they have now without it.

[@preedledee]

'That's very revealing - you believe something 'because it gives you hope'. My case rests.' BOOM end of debate.

[@paullafemina8260]

Dani Carlton yes that's it Death is horrifying so we wish to deny it with promises of eternal life but lies dont really help

[@Lightman741]

It takes more faith to be an athiest

[@nevanderson1164]

+Lightman116 "It takes more faith to be an athiest" As in it takes more hair to be bald, ? Takes more water to be dry? Takes more blindness to see? I know you think that this statement of yours is a killer blow, but really it just smacks of religious desperation. It openly displays just how errant your thinking is. Your words are the visible edge of religious inspired insanity Thanks for the display

[@myroom4640]

I believe in our WONDERFUL LORD because he is our HEAVENLY FATHER, we were created by HIM and I love him so very deeply and also have huge respect for him. We wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for GOD. JESUS died for all of humanities sins and for those that love HIM and accept his free gift of salvation, then we are indeed saved. Eternal life means to be with OUR WONDERFUL LORD GOD and to be with JESUS. Why wouldn’t anyone want to be able to live for all eternity with our CREATOR?? Most don’t even bother to read the bible to find out GODS TRUTH. A lot are ignorant and don’t want to educate themselves, if only they knew how absolutely wonderful it is to belong to OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. I will certainly lay down my life for JESUS when the time comes.

[@Gryffster]

I was having dinner with at a friends house a few weeks ago. Unusually, one of the guests was a Christian and peddled the same old nonsense about the UK "being a Christian country". I pointed to each of the guests in turn - atheist, atheist, atheist, it went on. She was the only Christian there. But apparently, "it's a Christian country"

[@starling86]

"the language we use every day comes from the Bible" - I reaaaaaaaaaaaaally need help with that one.

[@beirirangu]

11:26 "... everything from the language we use every day, comes from the bible..." that was honestly the funniest thing I've heard in a long time... She doesn't even think that the bible could've been a translation of its original Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek... She honestly believes that it was written in english... HILLARIOUS

[@MikkoRantalainen]

The Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek but you're otherwise totally correct.

[@jeremykientz]

“If they want to believe supernatural nonsense it’s up to them” hahaha! I love Dick Dawkins!

[@freebeing6952]

When Cristina Odone speaks, I become immediately annoyed. Nothing she says makes any sense to me.

[@JustaQuad]

How does English come from the Bible? Hasn't it been in Latin for most of its time?

[@mawa89g]

Originally, the Old Testament has been (mostly) written in Hebrew, the New Testament in Koine Greek. Latin translations were soon very popular though, it was a 'lingua franca'. I'm German, the original translation of the bible into German by Martin Luther (16th century) is said to have been very influential on the "unification" of the German language, it might have been similar for the development of the English language with the King James translation, I'd assume. I can read the German of the Luther-translation very well (I'v seen a version from its first century in Dublin Trinity College and could read it), but if I go back to earlier medieval German writings - almost no chance ;)

[@KCWhoa]

They're already claiming an assumption is fact, and when they make another you're surprised?

[@Zkkr429]

Duh! God is English!

[@tristanwalker8834]

Josh Hanson and white

[@nyejel8364]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught that.

[@ollieburtonuk]

I very much dislike how Christians try and claim basic humanism as being part of their mantra. I was talking to my father recently and asked him to define what he thought a Christian was, he said 'a person who does good things for other people'. He seemed genuinely surprised when I said that I was an atheist and also tried to do good things for others. The desire to help other humans requires absolutely no religious aspect whatsoever.

[@GreatBlueKnight]

You mean to tell me that I, as an agnostic, give to charity because I'm a decent human being with rational thought instead of a religious imbecile?! HOW CAN THIS BE?!!!

[@jayd4ever]

+Ollie Burton yes that's true both religious people and non believers can do good and bad

[@ollieburtonuk]

Yeah, I think it's very relevant. The difference is that religions by their nature promote dogmatic thinking, which can lead people to commit atrocities. Secularism on the other hand, has no such mechanism as part of the worldview.Baji Scipio Dārayav Aurelius Julian Venizelos Nalwa

[@jayd4ever]

Ollie Burton it depends on the religion but most of the major religions do not cause atrocities and not trying to and secularism is not separate to religion because many religious believe in secularism I think you are talking about humanism which is more closer to atheistic thinking

[@ollieburtonuk]

+Baji Scipio Dārayav Aurelius “Hemu Rawal Domitian” Julian Venizelos Nalwa Well I suppose not, all secularism says is that all faiths should be treated equally and the state should be totally separate from religion. And I agree with you on the point that most religious people don't want to cause harm, but I am very wary of any ideology that contains dogma. It's utterly regressive.

[@hadara69]

Last thing Ayatollah Dawkins said says it all. Lol! "You believe something because it gives you hope." Why believe it then? Why not just have hope for a better future for mankind regardless? And hope for what exactly, that you get raptured up into heaven when man destroys himself? What if religious divisiveness is precisely what destroys us? This really is just down to political leverage, even more so here in the states where I live. Man, I wish we had a show like this on American TV! I might actually start watching regular tv again...The more we talk about this, the less power the religionist have to wield politically. Tolerance is everyone's goal. He's not an Ayatollah of atheism, he just scares many theists because he makes sense!

[@OHYS]

I feel like this show would never get made in the US, and if it did, they would never pick any controversial topics that could lead to the critisism of religion. However, I'm not an American and have never been there so this is just my imagination of what American culture is like

[@hadara69]

@@OHYS Thanks for replying and allowing me to read my words again. TV has changed here some since then, but you’re right about it being too controversial for regular tv. One of the many streaming platforms might air stuff like this. Don't know. We just don’t have the same attitude toward religion here as most of Europe. It’s considered too rude and "baised" (a term being misused now), even as the country is falling apart because of it, imo.

[@H0llaZ1990]

11:31: Your language is not Christian. Your language is pagan - its based on the viking language Old Norse. Don't believe me? Look up the language tree - or just search for a list of "Old Norse words in English".

[@EpicAwesomeWin87]

And to put in some Latin and germanic strings. They where invaded by romans a while and that had to made some marks in the culture and language.

[@lucasharte4171]

mostly germanic, latin and norman with tints of old norse

[@H0llaZ1990]

lucas harte +theden.se Aside from a few adopted words, it's not really Latin. I know the Romans ruled over England, but the grammar isn't Latin and the vocabulary has many important Roman words (most are Anglicized), but compare the fact that you can take a random sentence from English and see a minimum of 3 words from Norse origin to Latin and you'll see, it has impacted governmental language, not the common man's language. As for Germanic - yeah, but if you understand what Germanic is/was, you'll know that Old Norse is also Germanic. The language they spoke in Britain before was also based on Germanic (various different languages though, but London area so to speak). But if you look up Old Norse words in English, you'll see how many regular words actually come directly from Norse. Hands (handr), window (vindöye), ship (skeppr), boat (bátr), just to name a few. There are literally hundreds of examples (not to mention the naming of villages with the Norse word for village - by). Also, Norman? The old Norman tribes were Viking settlers in Normandy - again, Old Norse!

[@jordanvanderkuyl6729]

That's why I watch the show, Vikings.... lol

[@Borodino12]

While it is rue that many words in English have Norse origins, the examples you cite are actually more closely related to German, i.e., hand = hand, ship = Schiff, boat = boot, etc. Even the Norse "window" is also called fönster in Swedish and is a linguistic relative to fenster (German) and fenetre (French).

[@57harrierstrikes]

Just imagine sitting next to Dawkins and every time one of those religious fanatics speaks, you look at him like, "Are you gonna take that?"

[@maratemptress2142]

its really sad to see how richard dawkins keeps himself calm because he knows he speaks with the truth and these other people are freaking out the male with the glasses was almost to tears it seemed

[@pizzagod-dk5xm]

the host is amazing...he has tried to remain neutral

[@epiphany55]

I find it fascinating that some people can base their beliefs on hope and be able to hold those beliefs together. Clearly hope IS enough to believe something, but it's something my brain simply isn't wired to accept. As soon as I hope something is true, all these doubts pop up. Those doubts compel me to question those beliefs. When those questions lead to answers, the belief is either confirmed and I can believe with conviction or it becomes a sham and the belief collapses like a house built on wet sand. When no answers are found, all I think is I haven't looked hard enough!

[@lawratify]

I don't care what religion a person claims to be , what I only care about is whether one has a CONSCIENCE, COMPASSION AND EMPATHY,the most important attributes that set fully fledged decent human beings apart from the rest of the animals. Sadly some of the worst people I have known in my life are people who call themsleves Christians but are devoid of these important attributes and are self-centered.

[@ohwellwhateverr]

The very first point that Dawkins makes is completely true, and it's worrying too. When I did the census, my parents didn't know I was atheist. I was scared that they might notice what I had put down, as I wasn't ready to talk about it. So I ticked Christian. I still feel guilty about it. I'm sure there's plenty of young people (as they're in the same household census as believing parents) that were in the same position as I was. Yet they all count towards the Christian figure.

[@erikchagas]

The end is just epic: "You believe in something, because it gives you hope. My case rests".

[@keenanmadams8316]

"I believe it because it gives me hope; my case rests."

[@therealadammercs6344]

Dawkins drops the mic after his last statement lololol CLASSIC

[@Georgefirth100]

I'm so lucky to live in a country where religion plays basically no role in society. I'm very proud that my home country, the Czech Republic, is one of the most atheist countries in the world. My parents aren't religious and neither were my grandparents. Religious education is not part of the school curriculum and the bible belongs on the same shelf as the Greek mythology. Religious people in my country are usually looked at as being slightly weird and delusional, unlike for example in the USA where it's usually the other way around.

[@ZiggyStardust49]

You are one lucky homo sapien! I'm proud to orbit the universe on a planet that holds a society like yours

[@atlascms9815]

***** Czech Republic is good place. I was raised in china,lived there for a lot of years, where the proportion of no-religion people is even over 20 percent higher than Czech Republic. Never has any forms of religion ever been taught there. I don't like the China communism party for abuse of power but they sometimes used the power to do good things like this one. I became a physicist and I absolutely think that no religion should ever be taught in any way unless they provided solid CRITICAL REASONING and PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. But once they provide that , it is not religion anymore, it became science

[@LorraineTalley1]

I will say one thing about the U.S. They have been one of the most blessed countries on our planet. They too are slowly being less Christian. This is sad because we will start loosing our favor with the Lord. Being a strong Christian country is what made our country so great - that was our secret to our success. But our country is now becoming more secular and you will see our country start having more problems that will become harder to overcome - like our climate change. All of these things are predicted in the bible. Believe or not - it is your choice.

[@ZiggyStardust49]

Lorraine Talley Right well first of all which lord? Shiva? And second of all christians sanctioned slavery in the Americas for centuries, evangelicals are more commonly climate change deniers, and the US constitution was always secular and was written by predominantly Athiest men. Secularism is just natural progression, in 50 years when Christianity is dead our children will learn about it in history classes and be shocked at how such a disgusting cult could ever attain so much power.

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

+George Firyt It's becoming much the same in Bulgaria too, although the stats are more akin to the UK than to Czech unfortunately, most religious people are not church goers thankfully.

[@MrDominex]

Britain WAS a Christian country, but now no religion dominates.

[@namankumar9478]

But Christianity is still official religion of Britain. Christianity is state religion of UK.

[@bengil4862]

Naman Kumar I see a lot of people wearing cross necklaces these days. It’s still very much alive I think

[@MrDominex]

@@bengil4862 Christianity doesn't dominate today like it did 500 years ago, though people still wear crosses. In 1500 you could go to jail-- or worse-- for not belonging to the correct religion.

[@bengil4862]

MrDominex agreed, please still have faith though, just not in the religious sense

[@MrDominex]

@@bengil4862 Most people believe there is something up there somewhere, hopefully watching over us with good intentions, but nothing more specific than that.

[@DlcEnergy]

You don't need to be a Christian to celebrate holidays like Christmas/Easter. The only reason we celebrate these occasions is cause we love presents/chocolate. Nobody's thinking of Jesus's birthday or his "resurrection". Kids love toys, they don't know anything about Jesus, and neither do we. If all we did on Christmas/Easter was prey to Jesus for an hour, that would of died out long ago. People wouldn't carry on doing that. What we've decided to do is to satisfy ourselves. 3 reasons we don't need religion to live our lives: Instinct, Respect and Love....

[@Nerakor]

DLC ENERGY I guess the point she was making was not "christian country" in an ideological way, but in a cultural. And to be fair you have to grant her, that because of the way history went, western europe was very much shaped by christianity (holidays, churches and cathedrals, etc.). Therefore from a cultural standpoint you can perfectly argue for any european country to be somewhat christian. That's just what you get, when you do not specifically define your conversation topic :)

[@tanvi7532]

Maybe it should be like india. They celebrate christian muslim Hindu and Buddhist holidays. More holidays isnt a bad sacrifice for secularism hahah

[@DlcEnergy]

If you're gonna comment here, make it interesting please...

[@jayd4ever]

+DLC ENERGY Yes I think today many Britons celebrate Christmas because of santa claus and presents not because of Christianity as it was suppose to be

[@nevanderson1164]

+Nerakor Because anyone Not christian quickly found themselves dead, which from an evolutionary viewpoint is not a good.

[@lennydale92]

If you like it or dislike it, Britain is vastly atheist/non religious. No its not Christian anymore.

[@logical1989]

I haven't heard that before! Very useful quote when discussing secularism which, in my opinion, should allow all religions freedom but should not grant special privileges to any of them. Christians tend to get very upset about this, as though freedom for them isn't enough, but they need to take freedom away from others at the same time.

[@james140576]

Richard Dawkins is the man!!!

[@themightyleo]

I find it so amazing how respectful people can be when they discuss issues outside of the US

[@late8641]

"That's very revealing. You believe something because it gives you hope. My case rests." Dawkins really hit the nail on the head with that one.

[@janedoe3648]

It is not easy to believe in God..ppl with true faith do not only believe Him because He gives them hope and makes them feel good..that would be impossible

[@valroniclehre193]

@@janedoe3648 If a belief demands effort in the face of evidence to be retained, that might be your first clue.

[@robertdavidson4418]

About 30 years ago I was silly enough to become a christian for four or five years, before I saw it for what it was. In my early zeal I attended a very small conference of Christians who were keen on, or who worked in the arts. Whilst there we were asked where we stood on various doctrinal matters. There was someone there who stated that they didn't even believe in the existence of Jesus, but were a christian because they believed in the power of love. I have known a number of people who equate Christianity and goodness. Also I have met a number of paid church leaders, of different denominations and theological positions within those denominations, who have given cause to doubt their belief; not just their psychological health but the sincerity of their belief. I have only once met a close relative of a vicar who had the integrity to give up their job because of their "doubts", although I believe it is more common nowadays (or perhaps we just hear about it more). In case anyone thinks that this can't be true of evangelicals I would suggest they type in "Christopher Hitchens on Billy Graham, Scientology..." (I forget the rest of the title, but that will get you there). Before you complain, I agree that an allegation is not the same as proof, but I think that most people would agree that CH was a very intelligent and well informed antitheist.

[@lawratify]

I don't care what religion a person claims to be , what I only care about is whether one has a CONSCIENCE, COMPASSION AND EMPATHY,the most important attributes that set fully fledged decent human beings apart from the rest of the animals. Sadly some of the worst people I have known in my life are people who call themsleves Christians but are devoid of these important attributes and are self-centered.

[@feldej2]

Yet another win for Atheist!

[@victortkd9680]

Atheism*

[@feldej2]

Either or neither nor

[@pdoylemi]

That guy on the end brings up a good point by accident - if Britain is based on "Christian" values, why oppress, persecute, and dominate the Irish for centuries for being a different KIND of Christian? My great, great uncle Connor if family lore is correct, was hanged by Anglicans for being a Catholic and refusing to convert. I suspect he might have also been fighting the Brits, but family lore doesn't mention that. It paints him as an honest sharecropper, whose farm was taken over by an Anglican zealot who demanded that all the Irish working his farms convert. I don't know that this is true, but it does not strike me as something very hard to accept - but I'll bet tthat no one arguing that Britain is a "Christian" nation would support that particular "Christian" value.

[@ShortFuseFighting]

0:29 lol that sassy head tilt

[@br2k]

How do you make the leap from a biological impossibility told in a story until the written word became available hundreds of years later, and a modern era relationship between a father and child? I'm dying to hear this one.

[@ComedyLove28]

I grew out of imaginary friends when I was about 8... This is hilarious XD

[@adamrules01]

I'm not at all surprised by the ignorance of the journalist in the room. She doesn't seem to realize that having a Latin based language does not mean that our language came from the bible. The bible was written in Hebrew and then first of all translated into Greek and then Latin came afterwards. We spoke Anglo Saxon for 100s of years and that was a Germanic language.

[@zibafu]

lets not forget that during the census, the adults would tick the boxes for children, or in some cases adults doing the census for other adults - the census came to our house and my mothers partner filled it in for all of us, labelled us all as christians, even tho only he "technically" is

[@bangkokstevie]

I've lived here all my life. I'm not a Christian. Never have been. Despite having it rammed down my throat as a child.

[@samueljosephs6793]

bangkokstevie Same. I was religious until I left my Christian primary school.

[@XxXlauchaXxX]

I love to hear Richar Dawkins talking

[@hairydanial]

this gotta be the best debate i've ever seen where both sides are not shouting and calling names at each other.

[@MitchMBowring1]

‘Spirituality is the antithesis of rationale and reasoning’ I'm glad she confessed that.

[@Yourmomazz]

Believe something because it gives you hope? Is that the secret to faith? Well then i believe im going to get me a Ferrari next year. That gives me hope of a fast commute. Does that make it true?

[@nevanderson1164]

+Hypogonadism Traffic jams

[@stephenmason5682]

If its true you wouldn't nèd faith or belief?

[@Yourmomazz]

@@nevanderson1164 Dang it. Well here`s hoping for a scooter instead then.

[@SokarEntertainment]

The language we use comes from the bible? That has got to be the WORST argument I have heard yet for.. well.. anything! O.o

[@doperomi4236]

Richard dawkins is right

[@jekk23]

Holy scriptures from the Bible to the Guru Granth Sahib have the same empirical merit as the Greek Gods of Mount Olympus with respect to supernatural phenomena such as Virgin birth, miracles and divine intervention etc. We sneer at Scientology and people who believe in Apollo but are compelled to respect belief in a homophobic, misogynistic clutch of Abrahamic superstitions. The scientific method can and does give us much more

[@politicsequalsgarbag]

Plus, the Greek Gods were much more fun to learn about.

[@boscoboskovitch2183]

Yes it's given you abortion on demand, an undisciplined any thing goes society. Wars ,disorder unbridled greed. You have traded your Christian heritage for a Muslim atheistic one and you will pay a price both in the physical and spiritual world.

[@politicsequalsgarbag]

Bosco Boskovitch You must have stopped your history lessons in school before you hit 5th grade or you would have probably come across the crusades.... fucking idiot.

[@boscoboskovitch2183]

Thankyou, whilst devoid of scientific accuracy your trash talk is plentiful. You have shown what your really are...a nobody.

[@nevanderson1164]

+Bosco Boskovitch Biblical Abortion, a step by step guide to inducing a miscarriage Hosea 9.16, Numbers 5.21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curse-“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[a] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell.

[@LucienHughes]

True, most of our language comes from french and latin roots.

[@shroomer8294]

You sure it wasn’t a big tower?

[@OHYS]

English is a Germanic language, most of the words we use are not of Latin origin. French is of Latin origin.

[@shroomer8294]

@@OHYS Pretty sure English does have words that have French/Latin origins. According to google “combine” has Latin and French origins. It’s important to remember that languages always influence each other over time, my first language is Dutch and we have a ton of words that are either taken or derived from English.

[@OHYS]

@@shroomer8294 No, that’s what i said. English is full of latin derived words. It’s just they said “most of the language” comes from latin. Derived is a latin derived word. It’s quite easy to tell which words are fron their spelling and commonness

[@shroomer8294]

@@OHYS Oh ha ha, my mistake,

[@Amen.ahmed1]

Richard Dawkins is a Universal Treasure.

[@lazeyjohnson3630]

Is that Joey from Friends, sitting left from Richard?

[@Henry-kz4gn]

Title: is britain a christian country Video starts: is it cool to harvest organs

[@dreamingpetal8929]

I'm in the USA and I LOVE these debates!!!!

[@TheHenryMedhurst]

Richard is very polite in this debate. I'd love to have seen Christopher Hitchens get a say on this program. He'd say: "Which is more likely: That the whole natural order is suspended, or that a Jewish minx should tell a lie?"

[@samueljosephs6793]

Found out about him after he died but I miss him. The world lost a great interlect.

[@AnimalStomper]

I would say I was proud of Britain for mostly dispatching religion at this point. But the truth is that I am ashamed it took this long.

[@bernardohernandez2620]

If Dawkins had this debate with American, I'm convinced it would have actually gone worse.

[@holz_name]

Is it really important whether or not the UK is a "Christian Country"? Facts are that the UK do not have a state religion, everyone is free to have their own religion. The UK now have many Muslim emigrants. But every progress in human society was secular. Slavery, woman rights, gay rights, same-sex marriage, child rights, all were secular advancements. Religion played in most cases a hindrance to those rights. In fact, Christianity do not care about those rights. It has the bible and the 600 and more commandments. And none of those commandments is "do not rape" or "rights for children". In fact it is the opposite: if you rape a woman just pay some silver to her father and marry her. Disobedient children can be whipped. Even murder is fine as long as the victim is not Christian.

[@ianrwood21]

The UK does have a State religion - it is the Church of England.

[@holz_name]

ianrwood21 Yes, but are you forced to join the Church of England? I think not. I think it's more traditional and only on paper. Only a handful of countries worldwide have a state religion*. (North Korea is missing from the map, it have obviously a state religion). Of course Islam is predominant as state religion in the 21. century. and I suspect that Islam is the only religion that is actively enforced. * en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_state_religions.svg

[@hadara69]

Just as in the UK, christians in the US seem to think every social advancement and law we have is bible based. There's a real disconnect there in understanding of modern morality vs. bible morality. I see this as the main lack of distinction behind the the politicization of religion here. Everyone just assumes we can't be good without god(s), and since most people's idea of god is the christian one, we must be a "christian nation". Most don't even know how recently "In God we trust" was put on our money!

[@ianrwood21]

Holz Name I didn't say that people in the UK were forced to be CofE. I just stated that it is the state religion and that you were wrong to assert as you did that there is no State religion in the UK. Having a State religion does not mean that everyone is forced to join that religion.

[@ianrwood21]

hadara69 I agree entirely with you. I would also like to point out that advances in morality, eg gay and women's rights have actually been opposed and continue to be opposed by many Christians.

[@brianbingman44]

@8:45-9:45 he brings up the article in the telegraph about richard dawkins having ancestors who owned slaves at which dawkins says well just shows how desperate they are. the religion advocate says just to make this clear this is not a smear campaign then the lady to his left says well hey i actually work at the telegraph and we thought it would be funny to make dawkins look like shit hahahahahah ok

[@chrraz]

Isn't that what most magazines do? Make famous people look like shit for lols and profit ;)

[@nevanderson1164]

+Brian Bingman If Dawkins was christian, then all his sins would be absolved with a couple of Hail Marys. As Atheists, we do NOT punish the lineage down to the fourth generation. That mindless brutality is a religious specialty

[@ansa2791]

is there a show like this in the US if there is can someone tell what because we need a show like this

[@Alex90680]

6:42 "When was the last time I threw a bomb?" Pawnage at its finest.

[@jespna]

I'm quite ashamed to live in a time where this is worthy of a discussion. 100 years from now I hope they'll look back and think FFS

[@freigeist2833]

Thanks for uploading this video. It is really interesting to see what happens when such a show is biased for once towards atheism (and this show is!). Coming from Germany I know lots of TV-discussions that are clearly biased towards churches or religious positions, where Clerics get much more time to present their points, where Atheist are beeing interrupted all the time and all these other niceties. Here we have a more or less united block of intelligent atheist participants and a variety of religious representatives/positions - and the religious position drowns. Completely! There might even be a few good points, but that hysterical women really takes all of them down with her.

[@lawratify]

I don't care what religion a person claims to be , what I only care about is whether one has a CONSCIENCE, COMPASSION AND EMPATHY,the most important attributes that set fully fledged decent human beings apart from the rest of the animals. Sadly some of the worst people I have known in my life are people who call themsleves Christians but are devoid of these important attributes and are self-centered.

[@iCABALi]

My mum ticked the Christian box because she respects her parents traditions, although she does not derive her values from Christianity, she doesn't even believe in God. I'm pretty sure this is quite a common story in our country.

[@Psygression91]

Just imagine the hitchslaps if Chris were at that discussion////

[@recruitmentch]

dawins said that religion enslaves humans, but because his great great great great great grandfather owned slaves, his points aren't valid. What can one do but laugh at such logic?

[@eldisperezdias7767]

Wow your logic is so amazingly stupid.

[@ThatGaymer]

There's no way this isn't bait...

[@vbacs22]

Roz Sa Who's dawins?

[@wowman123ish]

eldis perez dias they're pointing the logic out...

[@JNeely10]

Lol I know right, such a petty attempt!

[@frankleeseaux]

11:25 Christina says, "I think it's a Christian country... by Christian country, I mean that everything from the language we use everyday comes from the Bible..." Wait a minute... Hold on a tick, as Austin Powers might say. So, this woman is claiming that since the Bible was translated from Greek into the Kings English, and then further, into the Queens English, that means that English is a biblical language, and, by virtue of that, a Christian language? WTF?

[@jayd4ever]

+Frank Lee Seaux yes she is wrong for that reason

[@thelombaxsystemtv7492]

Oh look, it's British Marty McFly as Our host for this evening! It's fine if it doesn't make You laugh, it's just I think the man who is hosting the show looks like a Michael J. Fox! 😄

[@copterofrofling]

"when was the last time i threw a bomb" oh my god, win.

[@az958]

Dawkins is just Awesomeness!! I really look up to him.. He should have a golden chair in that audience!! or in any audience for that mater! but the fact that he doesnt need that golden chair makes him even more Awesome!! haha

[@michaelanderson7715]

Are you religious ?

[@az958]

@@michaelanderson7715 not really

[@michaelanderson7715]

@@az958 ...yes or no...or answer this; do you believe a god exists ? For yes, why ?

[@az958]

@@michaelanderson7715 iam not religious

[@michaelanderson7715]

@@az958 blood from a stone

[@jeschinstad]

«Christian values» is a label that is used to sneak in a false dilemma. If it was clearly defined, then it would be obvious that it would be better referred to as "national values" or something like that. But the power in this label is that if you say you're not a christian, then they'll ask if you think rape and murder is ok, because you don't share their values. And this type of argument is something we see frequently in religious debates. But it is nonsense and it serves no other purpose than to divide the population and create unnecessary conflicts. But then again; creating conflicts seems to be the only remaining purpose of religion.

[@SwapnilBhartiya]

Couldn't agree more. Religion is another organized power play - to take control of people.

[@trevorthomas1349]

The Christians lost this debate when the resorted to keep shots and insults.

[@thegroove2000]

The problem is that so many have been put under a consensus trance living their lives literally believing in fiction.

[@AaronDidIt]

Social tolerance is a product of democracy not of christianity.

[@gekiryudojo]

Richard Dawkins must be blown away by the idiocy of these delusional people.

[@tracer740]

+gekiryudojo - And, aren't we all? Seriously! It is though, amusing and even entertaining .

[@StereOasis93]

I'm a 19 year old from Wales and I don't know a single christian under the age of 30.

[@slandersir7255]

I don't think anyone really understood what Dawkins was saying. They were getting really upset about arguments that weren't even being made.

[@nevanderson1164]

+The Sleeping Cardinal That is a Hall mark of religiosity. An inability to comprehend Non religion as a concept. An inability to comprehend '....therefore god" Not automatically winning as a concept.

[@alexquintana1031]

God I love Dawkins (no pun intended) I appreciate how strait forward he is about things and doesn’t care about feelings. It’s true we are far past evolved a need for a deity and superstition….I see all Religions as Cults.

[@Lawh]

Those people opposite to Dawkins scare me.

[@TheFuzzywhizz]

As much as I'd want that to be true, the actual figure for the percentage of the British population that identifies as non-religious was 25% in the 2011 census. I have a link for it that KZbin won't let me post but it's not difficult to find it on Google. Cheers. :)

[@DM-mj8nr]

27:05 YEEAAUUPP

[@Havibox21]

Everyone except Dawkins stutters.

[@AnthonyRizzo2]

The obvious answer is, yes Britain is a Christian country. They have a monarch who derives her power supposedly from God and they have an official Church. A better question is are British citizens practicing Christians and the answer to that was also obvious. It was an overwhelming no. But this is not indicative of a lack of faith or an embrace of knowledge it simply means that the British wear their religion like a label or title as a means of identification much like their are ethnic Jews who are atheists.

[@nevanderson1164]

+Anthony Rizzo "But this is not indicative of a lack of faith or an embrace of knowledge" That says it all really, it is religion on one side and knowledge on the other.

[@Hoping4Intelligence]

This Christina lady is so smug. And yet Dawkins just sits there patiently. A true intellectual. I don’t know how he does it. I’m fuming from here - almost a decade later!

[@SFlavMerc]

The key point here that keeps being missed is that the 72% of people who said that they are Christian in 2001 is not relevant any more - but, politicians are using these stats and figures to their advantage, and to pass laws which aren't relevant (obviously, I don't know the ins and outs of how the numbers are being used, but the understanding I have thus far is enough). The secondary point that Richard and Andrew are making is that the numbers are completely different now. It has dropped from 72%, to 54% of people who say that they are Christian, AND, only 10% actually follow the Religion properly. This means that the other 90% aren't even really Christian, they just like the idea of Heaven, and want to be seen as a 'good person', as Dawkins puts it, which makes the stats not valid. Also, the point about "is Britain a Christian country?" doesn't really matter, because it's the same as asking a person whether they're a Christian person or not, it doesn't matter, Religion is bullshit - but that point I'm making doesn't really matter because that will never be the widely recognised view... Overall, the main point is that Christianity (and religion as whole for that matter) is corrupting the UK's policies. The solution is not to exterminate religion in Britain (which seems to be the case in France based on what is said in this debate), it is to stop it coming into politics.