Christian and atheist religious advocates argued about the role of religion in society during a ""Christianity vs. Atheism"" debate on the UW-Madison campus Thursday.
Dinesh D'Souza, author of ""What's So Great About Christianity?"" and Dan Barker, former preacher and co-founder of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, participated in the debate.
The UW Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics and Badger Catholic sponsored event, which filled the Memorial Union Theater to capacity and drew an estimated crowd of 1,300.
D'Souza said he would structure his arguments around history, philosophy, science and skepticism, without reliance on scriptures, revelations or other forms of sacred text. According to D'Souza, Christianity has played a crucial role in Western Civilization.
""Our civilization, our culture, even what we call secular values would not exist if it wasn't for the legacy of Christianity,"" he said. ""In other words, even what [Atheists] believe … their most cherished values, are sustained by a soil nourished by Christianity.""
He said research indicates conservative and liberal Christians tend to be philanthropic than others and said religion ""makes people better.""
""[Religion] provides, if you will, a sense of the sublime,"" D'Souza said, ""a cosmic purpose.""
Barker said Christians make positive contributions but argued the work they've done does not offset the harm that religion has caused. He said literal interpretations of the Bible can have negative outcomes, such as believers relying solely on faith instead of seeking medical treatment.
""We have better ways [than the Bible], we have reason, we have kindness, we have an enlightenment which is the real cause of the progress of the Western world,"" Barker said.
Barker said religion has been central to many global conflicts.
""Religion is divisive at its core,"" he said. ""Religion is an unnecessary source of conflict.""
Bob Pierce, a UW-Madison freshman, said people who attended the event would not change their opinions about religion.
""I guess I don't really see the point of the event, what exactly are we going to accomplish with this?"" Pierce said. ""Everybody's just going to back their own sides even harder once the debates are brought up.""
