“I think people with fragile egos and/or polluted consciences feel the need to strike out against what they believe is the cause of their own personal pain. ...”
I’m sure that’s part of it. This is another:
Hitchens is not, but Dawkins is a leftist-collectivist of the “humanism” branch, and all those types of people want to control other people. I think they know, like Gramsci, those who believe in principles, and values, and absolutes cannot be controlled, and the first thing you have to get rid of, if you want a collectivist society, is any form of belief system that makes people want to be free and independent. Since that is exactly the kind of people I want in any society in which I live, I could never be opposed to religion, no matter how much I might disagree with any specific teachings.
Hank
Good point.