Skepticism of the paranormal and skepticism of religious and theistic claims are often treated separately - but not so for James Randi. Although his work focuses primarily upon the paranormal, he is just as skeptical and even dismissive of fantastic religious ideas which he finds to be without basis in fact or reason.

He wrote for his website:

Yes, I'm a materialist. I'm willing to be shown wrong, but that has not happened - yet. And I admit that the reason I'm unable to accept the claims of psychic, occult, and/or supernatural wonders is because I'm Iocked into a world-view that demands evidence rather than blind faith, a view that insists upon the replication of all experiments - particularly those that appear to show violations of a rational world - and a view which requires open examination of the methods used to carry out those experiments.

It's important to underscore the fact that the methodology that leads one to be skeptical of claims made by psychics and astrologers should lead us to be equally skeptical of priests — and vice-versa. What's important is not so much that we disbelieve, but why we disbelieve. A person who disbelieves for poor reasons is no better off than someone who believes for poor reason.

It is because of this that I have stated on more than one occasion that, were I stranded on an tropical island, I would prefer to be stranded with a skeptical theist than a gullible atheist. The mere fact that someone is an atheist and disbelieves in gods doesn't mean much. I'd have far more to talk about and far more in common with a theist who understands critical thinking and approaches matter skeptically than with an atheist who knows nothing of such things.

 

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