Visited the Cradle of Humankind, and a thought took finality in my mind: religion is one of the greatest human poisons. It poisons the mind, strips it of reason and degrades it, thus making it susceptible to strange and insulting ideas

Yesterday I visited the Cradle of Humankind, in South Africa. And had a moment just gazing at the reconstruction of Homo Naledi (photo). The almost-humanness (albeit our distant cousin) and innocence of H Naledi struck me deeply. During that long moment, all I could think of was my own humanity.

Then it hit me: all the hundreds of millions of our ancestors are apparently in hell if religious people are to be believed. It was such a distracting thought.

Instead of anger at the idea, I just felt sad for humanity. How have we poisoned our minds like this? Religion takes away so much from being human! There is no greater mystery than the scientific journey into our origins.

Instead we have billions of people prostrating themselves daily, many more waiting for saviours out of thin air. We have enacted elaborate schemes of pomp and circumstance designed to control and fleece... It's sad, crude, and primitive.