Last Discussed: 09/03/2010

Most (if not all) of the modern religions have sects regarded as extremist, and members who might be described as zealots. The high-profile religious violence which has blighted the start of current millenium is attributable to religious extremists (to some extent by definition), whose theology has been widely condemned as a consequence.

However, some modern commentators, especially the cheerleaders of so-called "new atheism", take this further and adopt uncompromising positions against both extremist and moderate theology. By arguing that although religious extremism is the proximate cause of much violence, moderate religion enables the extreme fringe, and so religion as a whole must be the ultimate cause. The aim of this discussion is to try and explore the wider context and the validity of this argument.