To Sklansky and others who believe that religion does more good than bad,
I completely disagree. There is a widely held misconception that I'm surprised that even Sklansky seems to buy into that if you took away religion, people would stop treating each other as well. This is not supported by evidence at all. Just look at the Netherlands today. They are a very atheistic society. Crime rates are low and charity is much higher than in the U.S. Much of the social progress in our country from the abolition of slavery to giving women the right to vote was sparked by non-believers and fought ferociously by the religious every step of the way. I think you would find that those top 5% of smart people who don't believe in religion are amongst the most law abiding people in our country.