*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3_rGbiT_3c Richard Dawkins Says He's Agnostic -- NOT atheist - video testimony of Richard Dawkins saying he is not an atheist, but an agnostic]</ref>
He is sometimes referred to as the "world's most famous atheist" but when interviewed, he claims that, on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is perfect faith in God and 7 is perfect confidence in atheism, he is a 6.9.<ref>{{Cite news |author= Bingham, John |title= Richard Dawkins: I can't be sure God does not exist |url= httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9102740/Richard-Dawkins-I-cant-be-sure-God-does-not-exist.html |newspaper= [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date= February 24, 2012 |accessdate= February 24, 2012}}</ref>
Although Dawkins is an agnostic, he advocates [[evangelical atheism]] and is widely considered to be an [[atheist activist]]. Author [[Vox Day]] wrote concerning this matter, "While the fact that Dawkins declared himself a literal agnostic in the very book in which he declared the importance of atheist evangelism is both ironic and incoherent, it will surprise no one who has read the chapter of ''The Irrational Atheist'' entitled "Darwin's Judas".<ref name="voxday.blogspot.com"/>
[[File:Richard Dawkins photo.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|After previously apologizing to [[feminism|feminists]] and others for the [[Elevatorgate]] scandal, Dawkins retracted his apology and said, "I don’t take back anything that I’ve said. I would not say it again, however, because I am now accustomed to being misunderstood and so I will... I feel muzzled, and a lot of other people do as well.“<ref name="washingtonpost.com">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/richard-dawkins-stands-by-remarks-on-sexism-pedophilia-down-syndrome/2014/11/18/a2915cd8-6f64-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html Richard Dawkins stands by remarks on sexism, pedophilia, Down syndrome], by Kimberly Winston | Religion News Service November 18, 2014 and syndicated to the ''Washington Post''</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/rebeccawatson/status/497087309805027328 Rebecca Watson's Twitter post about Dawkins' apology]</ref><ref name="Who is belittling what">[https://richarddawkins.net/2014/08/who-is-belittling-what/ Who is belittling what?] by Richard Dawkins</ref>]]
Richard Dawkins was born in Kenya.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2004/jul/25/research.science</ref> He was a child of a family of colonial forest officers.<ref>httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3657215/Preaching-to-the-converted.html</ref>Dawkins was raised to have religious values, and confesses that when he was young, he acknowledged the complexity of life and believed that it indicated a designer. However, during his teens, he chose to abandon this faith and embrace Darwinism instead, despite admitting that he hadn’t actually read [[Charles Darwin]]’s works.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/feb/10/religion.scienceandnature</ref><ref name="bbc.co.uk">httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/people/dawkins.shtml</ref> See also: [[British atheism]] and [[UK and secularism]]
The atheist philosopher [[John Gray (philosopher)|John Gray]] says of Dawkins' time spent in [[Kenya]]: "Unlike the best of the colonial administrators, some of whom were deeply versed in the languages and histories of the peoples they ruled, Dawkins displays no interest in the cultures of the [[Africa]]n countries where he lived as a boy. It is the obedient devotion of those who served his family that has remained in his memory."<ref name="newrepublic.com">[http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119596/appetite-wonder-review-closed-mind-richard-dawkins ''The Closed Mind of Richard Dawkins''], New Republic by John Gray</ref> See also: [[Richard Dawkins' family fortune and the slave trade]]
''The Guardian'' reported that Dawkins is expected to have a full recovery or near full recovery from his stroke.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/12/richard-dawkins-has-stroke-on-eve-of-australia-and-new-zealand-tour Richard Dawkins stroke forces delay of Australia and New Zealand tour], ''The Guardian'', February 11, 2016</ref>
In December 2016, Dawkins appears to have started to Tweet again despite his doctors warnings to avoid controversy (For example, he tweeted that Britain had become a "nasty little backwater" after the [[Brexit]] vote and his Tweet drew fierce criticism).<ref>[httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/richard-dawkins-england-becoming-nasty-little-backwater-brexit/ Richard Dawkins: England becoming a 'nasty little backwater' after Brexit vote], ''The Telegraph'', March 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/748479/Richard-Dawkins-pretending-war-on-christmas-christians SHOCK RANT: Richard Dawkins mocks Christians for 'pretending' there's WAR on Christianity], ''Express'', December of 2016</ref><ref>[https://swarajyamag.com/insta/what-british-scientist-dawkins-thinks-of-islam What British Scientist Dawkins Thinks Of Islam], ''Swaraya'', June 7, 2017</ref>
=== Richard Dawkins' health ===
{{cquote|Richard Dawkins’ insanity has now become an English institution – like warm beer and rain. On Saturday morning, a tweet from his account asked why we don’t send lots of "erotic videos" to theocracies, adding that it should be “loving, gentle, woman-respecting” (I guess this involves the pizza delivery boy calling the next day). If we’re going down this road, I also hear that [[Islam]]ists aren’t very keen on bacon, so perhaps we should bombard the [[Iran]]ian countryside with pig carcasses? Also, miniature bottles of gin. And photos of hot guys making out – in a “men-respecting” and “gentle” sort of way.
After a few minutes of mockery, the tweet was deleted. Perhaps even he realised how utterly mad it was. Which suggests a degree of self-awareness that I didn’t think possible in Britain’s nuttiest professor.<ref>[httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11381529/Richard-Dawkins-wants-to-fight-Islamism-with-erotica.-Celebrity-atheism-has-lost-it.html Richard Dawkins wants to fight Islamism with erotica. Celebrity atheism has lost it] By Tim Stanley, ''The Telegraph'', January 1, 2015</ref>}}
{{See also|Atheism and pornography}}
Although Dawkins declared that he was an [[agnosticism|agnostic]] in 2006 and 2012, in 2002 Richard Dawkins publicly argued for the position of [[militant atheism]] and claimed that he will not feel anything after death (see also: [[Ex-atheists]]).<ref name="voxday.blogspot.com"/><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3_rGbiT_3c Richard Dawkins Says He's Agnostic -- NOT atheist - video testimony of Richard Dawkins saying he is not an atheist, but an agnostic]</ref><ref>
*[http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_on_militant_atheism.html Richard Dawkins on militant atheism]</ref> Despite arguing for the position of militant atheism previously, Dawkins told the Archbishop Dr. [[Rowan Williams]] that he never said was an atheist.<ref>[httphttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105834/Career-atheist-Richard-Dawkins-admits-fact-agnostic.html 'I can't be sure God DOES NOT exist': World's most notorious atheist Richard Dawkins admits he is in fact agnostic], ''Daily Mail'', 24 February 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfk7tW429E4 Richard Dawkins: I can't be sure God does not exist]</ref><ref>[http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_on_militant_atheism.html Richard Dawkins on militant atheism]</ref> See also: [[Richard Dawkins and agnosticism]] and [[Atheism and historical revisionism]]
The historian Dr. Tim Stanley wrote that he believed Dawkins is taking a foolish gamble and Dawkins is risking spending an eternity in [[hell]].<ref name="blogs.telegraph.co.uk"/> Dr. Don Batten, a scientist at [[Creation Ministries International]], wrote that despite Richard Dawkins' skeptical protestations, Dawkins appears to be a [[God]]-hater.<ref>[http://creation.com/is-richard-dawkins-an-atheist Is Richard Dawkins an atheist? by Dr. Don Batten]</ref>
As far as Christianity vs. atheism public debates, in recent years there have been a number of notable instances of atheists being reluctant to debate and doing poorly in debates (see: [[Atheism vs. Christianity debates]]).
Richard Dawkins has established a reputation [[Richard Dawkins and debate|for avoiding debates]] with his strongest opponents. On May 14, 2011, the [[Great Britain|British]] newspaper ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' published a news story entitled ''Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God''.<ref>[httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', May 14, 2011</ref> In ''The Daily Telegraph'' article Dr. [[Daniel Came]], a member of the Faculty of [[Philosophy]] at Oxford University, was quoted as writing to fellow atheist Richard Dawkins concerning his refusal to debate Dr. [[William Lane Craig]]: "The absence of a debate with the foremost [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] for [[Christianity|Christian]] [[theism]] is a glaring omission on your [[Curriculum vitae|CV]] and is of course apt to be interpreted as [[cowardice]] on your part."<ref>[httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html Richard Dawkins accused of [[cowardice]] for refusing to debate existence of God], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', May 14, 2011</ref>
In October 2011, Dr. Craig went to England and the Daily Telegraph declared that Dawkins is either a fool or a coward for his refusal to debate William Lane Craig plus declared that Dawkins is a "proud man" and a "coward" who puts on an "illiterate, angry schtick" for the public.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100112626/richard-dawkins-is-either-a-fool-or-a-coward-for-refusing-to-debate-william-lane-craig/ Richard Dawkins is either a fool or a coward for refusing to debate William Lane Craig - October 21, 2011 - ''The Daily Telegraph'']</ref> In addition, [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] [[True Free Thinker|Ken Ammi]] called Dawkins a "cowardly clown" because Dawkins and other prominent skeptics/atheists refused to debate [[Creation Ministries International]] at the 2010 Global Atheist Convention.<ref>[http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/richard-dawkins-cowardly-clown Richard Dawkins, the Cowardly Clown]</ref> For more information please see: [[Atheism and cowardice]]
{{cquote|That is a particularly bold untruth. Our debate, which took place at St. Catherine's College, Oxford on Oct. 23, 1996, attracted hundreds of students and featured, on the atheist side, Prof. Dawkins and chemistry Prof. Peter Atkins, and on the religion side, me and Prof. Keith Ward, Oxford's Regius Professor of Divinity. Student president Josh Wine was in the chair," the rabbi explained.
"In a vote at the end of the debate as to how many students had changed their minds after hearing the arguments, Dawkin's side was defeated and religion prevailed, which might account for his selective memory," he wrote.<ref name="wnd.com">httphttps://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61565</ref>}}
[[File:Shmuley Boteach.jpg|thumbnail|150px|left|[[Shmuley Boteach]] ]]
Rabbi Boteach reported at Beliefnet:
On February 19, 2012 ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported:
{{cquote|...some critics of Dawkins branded him "an embarrassment to atheism" after what many listeners considered a humiliation in a Radio 4 debate with Giles Fraser, formerly Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, in which the professor boasted he could recite the full title of [[Charles Darwin]]'s "[[The Origin of Species]]", then when challenged, dithered and said: "Oh God."<ref>[httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9091007/Slaves-at-the-root-of-the-fortune-that-created-Richard-Dawkins-family-estate.html Slaves at the root of the fortune that created Richard Dawkins' family estate, The Daily Telegragh, February 19, 2012]</ref>}}
On February 14, 2012, ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported regarding the radio debate:
{{cquote|Dr. Fraser skewered the atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins so fabulously, so stylishly, and so thoroughly that anti-religion’s high priest was reduced to incoherent mumbling and spluttering.<ref>[httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9082059/For-once-Richard-Dawkins-is-lost-for-words.html For once, Richard Dawkins is lost for words - Atheists’ arrogance is their Achilles’ heel, as a cringemaking radio performance has proved By Stephen Pollard, Feb 14, 2012]</ref>}}
[[Vox Day]] wrote concerning the embarrassing incident for Dawkins:
[[File:Sam Harris 01.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|[[Sam Harris]] ]]
YouTube atheist [[Thunderfoot]] said about the atheist movement after [[Reason Rally 2016]] had a very low turnout:
{{Cquote|I'm not sure there is anything in this movement worth saving. [[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens]] is dead. Dawkins simply doesn't have the energy for this sort of thing anymore. [[Sam Harris|Harris]] went his own way. And [[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]] just kind of blended into the background. So what do you think when the largest gathering of the nonreligious in history pulls in... I don't know. Maybe 2,000 people. Is there anything worth saving?<ref>[httphttps://www.wnd.com/2016/06/even-atheists-bash-reason-rally/ Even atheists bash 'Reason Rally']</ref>}}
On the other hand, Stephen LeDrew wrote at [[Oxford University]] Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking World website:
Social science in general has not yet fully appreciated the significance of the New Atheism and has tended not to take it very seriously, with the exception of those working in the new sub-discipline of secularity studies. But whatever one might think of the New Atheists’ ideas, an honest appraisal would recognize that they have had a significant and lasting impact.
They should be remembered for catalyzing a movement for religious dissent and inspiring atheists to come together and find a voice in American public life. But there’s a much darker side to the legacy of the New Atheism that stems from its imperialist and xenophobic tendencies, to say nothing of some thinly veiled Social Darwinism and [httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11047072/Richard-Dawkins-immoral-to-allow-Downs-syndrome-babies-to-be-born.html arguments] for eugenics. Sam Harris in particular is now known more for [http://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/why-dont-i-criticize-israel supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestine] and [http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/in-defense-of-profiling ethnic profiling] at airport security than for his science-based critique of religious faith. Richard Dawkins’ personal legacy has taken a heavy hit in the past few years, as his rambling criticisms of feminism and Muslim “barbarians” on Twitter have led to charges of [http://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/ sexism], [http://www.salon.com/2013/08/10/richard_dawkins_does_it_again_new_atheisms_islamophobia_problem/ racism], and general arrogance and intolerance.<ref>[http://blog.oup.com/2015/11/legacy-new-atheism/#sthash.6ZTcoHLw.dpuf The legacy of the New Atheism] by Stephen LeDrew wrote at [[Oxford University]] Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking World website</ref>}}
The [[liberal]] leaning British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' said regarding the New Atheism:
''See also:'' [[Atheism and profanity]], [[Richard Dawkins' battle with online fans]] and [[Atheism and the internet]]
In February 2010, the news organization ''The Telegraph'' reported Richard Dawkins was "embroiled in a bitter online battle over plans to rid his popular internet forum for atheists of foul language, insults and 'frivolous gossip'."<ref>httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7322177/Richard-Dawkins-in-bitter-web-censorship-row-with-fellow-atheists.html</ref> Richard Dawkins [[Abrasiveness of Richard Dawkins|has a reputation for being abrasive]] so the behavior of his fans is not entirely surprising. See: [[Atheism and profanity]]
It is commonly thought that some individuals who commonly use profanity have limited vocabularies and imaginations.<ref>''Handbook for New Converts'' By William J. (Bill) Morgan ThD, page 77</ref><ref>[http://www.contrarianconsulting.com/the-etiquette-of-profanity/ The Etiquette of Profanity] by Alan Weiss, Posted on October 31, 2010</ref>
In 2010, the prominent atheists who attended the 2010 global atheist conference, which included Richard Dawkins, were challenged to a debate by Creation Ministries International.<ref name="ReferenceB">http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/richard-dawkins-cowardly-clown</ref> Richard Dawkins, [[PZ Myers]] and other prominent atheists refused to debate the creation scientists at Creation Ministries International.<ref name="ReferenceB">http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/richard-dawkins-cowardly-clown</ref> As noted above, generally speaking, creationist scientists tend to win the creation vs. evolution debates (see: [[Creation vs. evolution debates]]).
The refusal of Richard Dawkins and other prominent atheists to debate the staff of Creation Ministries International is not surprising given that there are several instances Richard Dawkins avoiding strong debate opponents. In addition, creationists maintain that Richard Dawkins did not give a particularly strong showing at the [[Huxley Memorial Debate]]. One of the more embarrassing debates (particular the events surrounding the debate) was the case of Richard Dawkins losing a video taped debate to Rabbi Boteach according to the college audience.<ref name="beliefnet.com">http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx</ref><ref name="wnd.com">httphttps://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61565</ref> After the debate, Richard Dawkins denied the debate ever took place and Rabbi Boteach provided the video taped evidence that the debate did take place.<ref name="beliefnet.com">http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx</ref><ref name="wnd.com">httphttps://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61565</ref> Mr. Dawkins has declined to debate Rabbit Shmuley Boteach another time.<ref name="beliefnet.com">http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx</ref><ref name="wnd.com">httphttps://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61565</ref> Incidentally, Paul Humber notes there was a deception that occurred during email correspondence with Mr. Dawkins concerning the tally of vote counts that occurred for the Oxford debate between creation scientists Professor A.E. Wilder-Smith and Professor Edgar Andrews and evolutionists Richard Dawkins and John Maynard Smith (see: [[Huxley Memorial Debate]])<ref name="cr"/> Mr. Humber did not indicate whether Mr. Dawkins committed the deception or was merely duped by someone who provided an altered account.<ref name="cr"/>
[[File:PzMyers2.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|[[PZ Myers]]]]
The website [[True Free Thinker]] declared concerning the refusal of Richard Dawkins, [[PZ Myers]] and other prominent atheists to debate the [[creation science|creation scientists]] and other staff at Creation Ministries International:
Professor McGrath asserts that the aggressive rhetoric of Dawkins' works is merely a mask to cover a deep insecurity about the public credibility of [[atheism]].
McGrath recently wrote a book opposing the [[atheist]] ideology of Dawkins entitled ''The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine''.<ref>httphttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=433628&in_page_id=1770</ref>
== Richard Dawkins and the Huxley Memorial Debate ==