It’s one thing to believe in something greater than yourself — humanity, for instance, or universal freedom and equality -we can all do that, and indeed more of us should. But that belief should be grounded in something real and achievable, surely? Not phantoms from a time when people didn’t understand why it rained, or why the sun rose and set.

Consider. If I judge my self-worth on the fact that my most loyal friend is a six-foot-tall white rabbit that nobody else can see, then I am mentally ill. If my sense of purpose is driven by a belief that the Higher Being on the Mother Ship has promised to take me to Alpha Centauri when I have reached a high enough state of enlightenment, then I am delusional and need therapy.

But, if I base my entire worth and purpose around obedience to the (often contradictory) whims of a cantankerous old gentleman on a golden throne in the sky, then everything is, apparently, fine!

A delusion is a delusion, and false beliefs are false. That alone is sufficient reason to beware of religion. True conclusions cannot come from false premises.