2006 Beyond Belief Conference at the Salk Institute
Will faith and dogma trump rational inquiry, or will it be possible to reconcile religious and scientific worldviews? Can evolutionary biology, anthropology and neuroscience help us to better understand how we construct beliefs, and experience empathy, fear and awe? Can science help us create a new rational narrative as poetic and powerful as those that have traditionally sustained societies? Can we treat religion as a natural phenomenon? Can we be good without God? And if not God, then what?

This is a critical moment in the human situation, and The Science Network in association with the Crick-Jacobs Center brought together an extraordinary group of scientists and philosophers to explore answers to these questions. The conversation took place at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA from November 5-7, 2006.

Video 1. Bill Maher on Mormonism and Religion in Politics

Video 3. Bill Maher on Scarborough Country—Religion Debate

Video 3. Bill Maher & Guests Discuss Religious Fanaticism

Julia Sweeney, a former Catholic, tells the story of how her faith began to crack after reading a most alarming book ... called the Bible. Her story is excerpted from her play, “Letting Go of God,” which ran in Los Angeles.

She is best known for her roles on Saturday Night Live, especially as the androgynous character “Pat.” In 2006, Sweeney was awarded the Richard Dawkins Award and the American Humanist Association’s “Humanist Pioneer” award, and joined the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America. She also does commercials for the Freedom From Religion Foundation on Air America Radio.

Julia starts with a story about meeting with the Mormon missionaries.