Is Religion Dangerous? [audio 60min]

Is religion dangerous? 1) Sam Harris thinks so. Harris is the author of the best-selling book The End of Faith and a firm atheist. He tells Steve Paulson religious certainty is not only irrational, it's dangerous. He says believing in Allah or Jesus or the God of Abraham makes no more sense than believing in Zeus. 2) Karen Armstrong is the author of nearly 20 books on religion. Her latest is The Great Transformation, which charts the origins of many of the world' great religions in the so-called"Axial Age." Armstrong tells Steve Paulson that traditions from Confucianism to Judaism emerged as responses to the rampant violence of their time. And she says our own time has a lot in common with that age. Also, Azhar Usman is a comedian who's appearing on the"Allah Made Me Funny! Official Muslim Comedy Tour." He tells Jim Fleming how he makes humor out of our stereotypes about Muslims, especially on airplanes. And we hear some of his humor. 3) Nancy Klein Maguire has written a book called An Infinity of Little Hours, which tells the story of the Carthusian order of monks. The Carthusians believe in complete withdrawal from the world. They are the most austere monastic order in Christendom and attract a remarkable sort of individual to their order. Maguire tells Anne Strainchamps about the ones she got to know.