A J Phillips,

Most of my training has been in science, and I've also done a lot of sailing. When you are out in the middle of the ocean, with nothing around you except sea and air, you start to detect that there is something greater than oneself.

Get a boat and try it, or perhaps it would be too religious for your sensibilities.

runner, the "dogma" of secularism allows the Scriptures to persist, not resists them.
Your reference to global warming, etc are just red herrings.

Vanna, argument from personal incredulity is no argument.

When did feminism become 'belief in the denigration of the male gender', Vanna? Yes, there may be a few feminazis out there, but most feminists are reasonable people--and some of them are even of the male gender. If you'd grown up in the bad old days when getting married meant you lost your job because "you'll just get preganant and it will be inconvenient for us", or when you did the same job (and sometimes better) than the man at the next desk but got paid 2/3 the wage , because "he has a family to support and you're just doing this until you get married" , you might be a feminist also.

The author wrote: "But, I consider political secularism, as defined above, should be enshrined in the Constitution."

S. 116 of the Australian Constitution does enshrine secularism. It is almost identical with the references in the US Constition which has interpreted to mandate separation of religion and state.

The current government funding of the National School Chaplaincy and the subsidising of religious schools violate S. 116. There is a current court case initiated by Ron Williams which seeks a court ruling on the matter.

"common sense" written in the scriptures!

The "resurrection of christ" as "common sense"!

Try all the murderous inherently genocidal bits in Leviticus. Every one that I know would have been executed a long time ago. Or if they had lived in times past in christian Europe burned as witches, or monstered by the inquisition, or murdered as "heretics".

It is a myth to imply that Dawkins and Hitchens are not anti-religious.