Letter: Science and theology: material and spiritual questions that are worlds apart

Sir: Reminding one of the naive and by now bankrupt Enlightenment faith in science and technology as the major means of human betterment, Richard Dawkins wastes his energy in proving that, in contrast to science, theology has never said anything 'which is of value to anybody'.

However, to compare science to theology in such a manner is like trying to prove that a hammer is more effective in making chairs and tables than a lily. Apart from the utter banality of the argument, it constitutes an excellent example of how intelligent people can portray a total lack of imagination when they tread into a discipline that is qualitatively different from their own.

Yours faithfully,

NICOS MOUZELIS

Professor of Sociology

London School

of Economics

London, WC2

20 March