If Dan won't say it, I will: All religion is bullshit.

Oh, I'm not saying there aren't some good things that come from religion or that people of faith are inherently bullshitters, just that in a very real and literal sense the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, the Buddhavacana, the Book of Mormon, and all the other sacred texts and oral histories on which the world's various religions are based are total bullshit. They are simply untrue, both as historical documents and as factual accounts of the word of some deity or deities. And I base this assertion not on my own non-theism, but on the simple fact that while these religions may share some universal values ("Thou shalt generally, under most day-to-day circumstances, do your best to avoid casually killing people within your own social group," for example), they are very often totally at odds with each other in everything else, especially their proscriptions for properly worshipping the one true God (or gods).

And in case you think I'm being an asshole by declaring all religions bullshit (i.e. factually incorrect), I'd just like to point out that the only reasonable alternative—that there is only one true religion, and all the others are bullshit—is equally assholic. Honestly, only an asshole would ring my doorbell to tell me that unless I believe exactly what they believe, a compassionate and loving God will torment me in Hell for all eternity.

Of course, much of what gets us through life is bullshit, so I really don't mean to judge your bullshit as any better or worse than mine. But bullshit it is.