Outspoken atheist Professor Richard Dawkins is to warn children of the dangers in believing "anti-scientific" fairy tales such as Harry Potter.
Prof Dawkins will write a book aimed at youngsters where he will discuss whether stories like the successful JK Rowling series have a "pernicious" effect on children.
The 67-year-old, who recently resigned from his position at Oxford University, says he intends to look at the effects of "bringing children up to believe in spells and wizards".
'I think it is anti-scientific – whether that has a pernicious effect, I don't know,' he told More4 News.
'Looking back to my own childhood, the fact that so many of the stories I read allowed the possibility of frogs turning into princes, whether that has a sort of insidious affect on rationality, I'm not sure. Perhaps it's something for research.'
However, the outspoken atheist said he hadn't even read Harry Potter and admitted he "didn't know what to think about magic and fairy tales".
He said the book will be "science thinking contrasted with mythical thinking" and will talk about the "Judeo-Christian myth".
'I plan to look at mythical accounts of various things and also the scientific account of the same thing. It will be several different myths, of which the Judeo-Christian one will just be one of many.
'The scientific one will be substantiated, but appeal to children to think for themselves; to look at the evidence. Always look at the evidence.'
Professor Dawkins is known for his passionate views and has become known as much for his views on atheism as his Darwinist theories on evolution.
His scientific world view once led him to talk about suing astrologers under the Trades Descriptions Act.
He made his name in 1976 with the bestseller The Selfish Gene and once said he would be happy to have his daughter cloned.
Some commentators have labeled him "the most dangerous man in Britain".
Last week he supported an idea by the British Humanist Association (BHA) to put atheist posters on the side of London buses.
The BHA aims to have two sets of 30 bendy-buses carrying slogans such as "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life".
- from current.com
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