ELSEWHERE: Richard Dawkins Stirs More Controversy with ‘Mild Pedophilia’ Statements

Richard Dawkins is no stranger to controversy: the outspoken atheist’s criticism of religion has ruffled many a theist’s feathers. However, his latest controversial statements don’t concern religion, but rather, the “mild pedophilia” he experienced as a schoolchild. Dawkins claims he experienced no “lasting harm” from the experience. Also, he can’t condemn the abuse because “you can’t condemn people of an earlier era by the standards of ours.” Dawkins has since been criticized by various advocacy groups, as well as atheist blogger PZ Meyers, who called Dawkins’ statements a “disaster” and chided him for “swapping the moral high ground for a swampy mire of ambiguity.”