リチャード・ドーキンスがバークレーで講演をするそうだ。ドーキンスはバークレーの先生だったこともあるし、うちの大学の性格上講演自体は何の不思議もないけど、講演する場所が面白い。

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今回ドーキンスが講演するのは、なんとキャンパスの向かいにあるFirst Congregational Church of Berkeley, United Church of Christだ。私もベストセラーとなったThe God Delusion（邦題：神は妄想である）を読んだが、彼は近年無神論として痛烈な宗教批判を行っている。その彼が教会で講演するというのは凄い話だ。教会のページを見ると、

• We are people who may have been brought up in other faith traditions or none at all.
• We are people of different ages and styles of life.
• We are people of different races, including multi-racial families.
• Our families are different shapes and sizes and include singles, significant others, and those who have lost partners or spouses.
• Some of us have children, some of us don’t, some of us are children.
• We respect other faith traditions, and some of our families are interfaith.
• We are all over the map politically (but we are located in Berkeley!).
• We are free to wrestle theologically.
• We take care of each other.
• We like to think and exchange ideas and opinions.
• We value creativity and use the arts in many ways in the life of the church.

とあり、なかなか面白そうな標語が並んでいる。