Polly Toynbee
From Srafopedia
Polly Toynbee (born Mary Louisa Toynbee on December 27, 1946) is a journalist and writer in the United Kingdom. A columnist in The Guardian newspaper, she has also worked for The Independent newspaper and the BBC.
Toynbee was appointed President of the British Humanist Association in July 2007. She talks about this in a radio interview, which may be downloaded from Richard Dawkins' official website.
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Quotations
Toynbee is an outspoken and often controversial critic. Although accused of Islamophobia by the Islamic Human Rights Commission in 2004, Toynbee is equally critical of Judaism and Christianity, writing that:
Primitive Middle Eastern religions (and most others) are much the same – Islam, Christianity and Judaism all define themselves through disgust for women's bodies.
Behind the Burka Women’s History Review, Volume 10, Number 4, 2001
Criticising the 2005 Disney film, The Chronicles of Narnia, she wrote:
Children are supposed to fall in love with the hypnotic Aslan, though he is not a character: he is pure, raw, awesome power. He is an emblem for everything an atheist objects to in religion. His divine presence is a way to avoid humans taking responsibility for everything here and now on earth, where no one is watching, no one is guiding, no one is judging and there is no other place yet to come. Without an Aslan, there is no one here but ourselves to suffer for our sins, no one to redeem us but ourselves: we are obliged to settle our own disputes and do what we can. We need no holy guide books, only a very human moral compass. Everyone needs ghosts, spirits, marvels and poetic imaginings, but we can do well without an Aslan.
'Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion' The Guardian, 5th December 2005
Writing in opposition to religious schools:
There is all the difference in the world between teaching children about religion and handing them over to be taught by the religious. ...
This is indeed a clash of civilisations, not between Islam and Christendom but between reason and superstition.
This is a clash of civilisations - between reason and superstition The Guardian, 14th April 2006
