We chase "fast culture" at our peril - unusual words and difficult art are good for us, says Will Self.

New support for the value of fiction is arriving from an unexpected quarter: neuroscience.

If you turn on the news tonight and hear of a bomber slaughtering civilians anywhere from Nigeria to the London Underground, I can reassure you of one point: the bombers will not be readers of Richard Dawkins.

Their assault illustrates the extent to which defenders of religion still dominate our press, the brutal retaliation exacted on clever opponents of faith and the incorrigible stupidity of Sayeeda Warsi's claim about "militant secularism" last week.

I can’t help wondering at the quality of journalism which sees a scoop in attacking a man for what his five-greats grandfather did.

Which, talking of dissimulation, brings me to Richard Dawkins, a fanatic disguised as a scientist.

Your right to practice your religion no more entitles you to try to save souls in your employer’s time than your right to a family life (equally guaranteed by Human Rights legislation) entitles you to take long phone calls from your spouse during working hours.

[The God Delusion is] absolutely chock-full of things Richard Dawkins really does believe. Which is handy, because it saves everyone the trouble of making them up.

Life cannot be meaningless so long as we have the capacity to affect the well-being of ourselves and others. For true meaninglessness, we would need heaven.

Christianity is like a big, chunky sweater. It may feel cozy, it may keep you warm, but just let one stitch be dropped and the whole thing unravels before your very eyes. Evolution is that stitch.

Religion is a parasite that feeds on all that is good in humanity as a whole and then proclaims it as its own gift to the world.