Many atheists and humanists have strong beliefs in various things

EAMON Reilly’s response (‘Believers are the real victims of discrimination’, Letters, February 22) to my letter of February 17 is rather disingenuous.

I suggested that a measure of a democracy is how respectful and inclusive it is of the rights of minorities, including those who make up a significant percentage of the population.

Nowhere did I call for the closure of Catholic schools, support for paedophilia or even cannibalism as mentioned in his letter.

I do not know of legislation to have any country declared “atheist” or seeking to limit or ban religious observance in Ireland or any other European country, even the more secular ones, and this is a good thing.

As for introducing blasphemy legislation when other countries are removing theirs ... well, what can I say? So I am not sure where Mr Reilly’s claim of victimisation comes from.

It is interesting that once he revealed his source as the Eurobarometer 2005 report, he reduced his claim that it measured belief in God from 95% to 73%, which is much closer to the 2006 Government report that I quoted. This is still way in excess of the figures given in the Irish census, so supporting my point that this should cause us to debate whether the difference is due to a problem in the way the census gathers the data. Mr Reilly’s claim that 5% of respondents to the survey “believed in nothing” is incorrect.

The report said they did not believe in “a god, a spirit or life force“.

If he investigates a little further he will find many atheists, humanists and others in this category have quite strong beliefs in many things. As for the remaining 22% (there was no response from 1%), it seems to imply there is a wide range of “non-God” beliefs, probably including some or many who agree with Einstein when he said: “I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.”

So maybe there is hope for reconciliation between religion and science after all? But I find it hard to believe Mr Reilly’s claim that believers are the real victims.

Andrew Doyle

Lehenagh

Lislevane

Bandon

Co Cork