Re: No challenge in religion
 

Was a student of his many years ago. A great mind - very challenging. Ultimately he's very concerned with the relief of suffering.

From memory the time frame is a bit longer. Googling will probably earn you a large amount of alarmist clap-trap and quotes out of context. Better to read one of his books.

Re: No challenge in religion
 

What I meant to say by "inteligence" was that the being would have a conscience.

I think it's the conscience (knowing you are alive) that gives value to a life (anything with a conscience should have same rights as humans imo).

Re: No challenge in religion
 

Do you mean consciousness? This is one issue. Another is sentience. Whether animals are conscious (and to what degree if they are) is a debatable issue, but it's pretty clear that they feel pain. This is the main reason, imo, that they deserve consideration.