Yeah. I guess I think that the majority of people who take themselves to be religious don't really endorse some of the fundamental tenents of their religion. But... They don't think that it matters. You can focus on the differences between religions (the controversy) or... You can focus on the similarities, of course.

Someone or other said that what seemed common to all religions was the notion of treating others as you would want to be treated yourself. This notion is broader, however. It is also something that seems common to all of the major ethical theories. So... There seems to be commonality right there...

I guess I just worry a little about how much the institution of formal religions (with their party lines) helps or hinders co-operation and mutual respect and the like. But I similarly worry a little about how much (what is coming to be) an institution of atheism (with for example, Dawkins rhetoric as the party line) helps or hinders co-operation and mutual respect and the like.

I went to a talk the other day where a person was doing textual deconstruction (or whatever) on ethical discourse. How we go about trying to persuade other people to do things we think is the morally right thing to do (the example was giving to overseas aid). She analyzed how those who were trying to persuade people to do good things (that was accepted as uncontroversial) often go about it in a way that only serves to make people defensive. And ultimately... It is counter-productive to getting them to do what we wanted them to do.

But I guess this is still to value cooperation above religious dogma...