What Would Durkheim Do?

Let us hope that this is the end of the cracker saga, though I know well that it isn't. Religion makes people powerfully stupid, and there are certainly enough opportunists around (like that gasbag who started all this) to keep egging on the stupid ones. Oh well.

Beyond the spectacle of offending the easily offended (and those who never pass up an opportunity to let everyone else know that they are offended), what is the important idea here? Let me quote from Dr Evil (no, not that Dr Evil, I mean PZ, the new Dr Evil):

I think if I were truly evil, I would have to demand that all of my acolytes be celibate, but would turn a blind eye to any sexual depravities they might commit. If I wanted to be an evil hypocrite, I'd drape myself in expensive jeweled robes and live in an ornate palace while telling all my followers that poverty is a virtue. If I wanted to commit world-class evil, I'd undermine efforts at family planning by the poor, especially if I could simultaneously enable the spread of deadly diseases. And if I wanted to be so evil that I would commit a devastating crime against the whole of the human race, twisting the minds of children into ignorance and hatred, I would be promoting the indoctrination of religion in children's upbringing, and fomenting hatred against anyone who dared speak out in defiance.

Making fun of a cracker is the express ticket to hell, apparently, but conspiring to cover up a major child sex abuse ring is nothing to lose sleep over. And who is the crazy, evil one? Like I said, religion makes people powerfully stupid.

If you haven't already seen it, I expand on this idea myself.

Congratulations, PZ, on becoming a truly dangerous professor!