clipped from: www.bbc.co.uk   

Will and Testament

William Crawley's broadcasting diary


What are the worst blights facing our society today? A version of that question was asked 104 years ago by Joseph Rowntree, one of Britain's most famous Quakers. Rowntree thought the "scourges of humanity" facing his world were poverty, war, slavery, intemperance, the opium trade, impurity and gambling. A new poll commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation asks a similar question of the UK population today, and the results could have Mr Rowntree turning in his grave. The "dominant opinion", according to researchers, is that religion is a "social evil" which leads to intolerance and ignorance.