Timothy Shortell is an associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College who, on his homepage (go here), states: “I am currently working on a project examining public reaction to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection from his day to our own.” It will be interesting to see what becomes of this project in light of the following remark that he made back in 2001 and which has been in the news recently:
“On a personal level, religiosity is merely annoying — like bad taste. This immaturity [a belief in God] represents a significant social problem, however, because religious adherents fail to recognize their limitations. So, in the name of their faith, these moral retards are running around pointing fingers and doing real harm to others. One has only to read the newspapers to see the results of their handiwork. They discriminate, exclude, and belittle. They make a virtue of close-mindedness and virulent ignorance. They are an ugly, violent lot.” [For the context go here]