A Bishop in Germany recently told his "flock" (I can't believe they admit they think of their parishioners as sheep) that atheists are like Nazis and Communists and that without religion society would become lawless and savage. I have two observations to make in response to that. First, I am an atheist and I think I am probably considerably more moral than most Christians, Muslims or Jews. I have worked and raised a family and obeyed the law and been good to my fellow man in a way that many Christians certainly hve not. Almost all politicians, for instance, claim to be religious. And, on Wall Street, where is the "Protestant ethic?" I don't see any ethic at all. Secondly, the German Bishop has only to look to the neighboring country to the north to see that his claim is a lie. In Denmark people are so little religious that Christians often hide their religion from their friends and fellow workers, or admit they are religious reluctantly and apologetically. Denmark has become essentially a non-religious society. It also happens to be, by a number of measures and studies, one of the happiest and most moral societies in the world. This is not because Danes are naturally peaceful, kind and rational. In the old days many of them were Vikings. Religion is clearly unnecessary to a well ordered society, and in fact is usually a source of strife, guilt, ignorance and bigotry, not to mention bad public policy.