Before my Id met my Editor – on religion, persecution and tolerance

 when I was first asked to reply to Cristina Odone’s piece in the New Statesman on state sanctioned intolerance, I dashed off about 4000 words, just to clear my head. I have removed most of the non-sequiturs and edited out the met extreme rage and confusion, but here is where the piece began. The New Statesman piece is very different, much shorter, and more level-headed. Enter at your peril.
Here is what I was replying to http://www.newstatesman.com/2014/01/new-intolerance 

In the past, I have been described as “angry atheist”, so before I begin, I would like to make it clear, these are separate issues. I am angry and an atheist. In the last few years I have performed and spoken at a variety religious events and festivals. I find that amongst liberal atheists and liberal believers, there is a lot of common ground on many issues, those of poverty, health, equality. i even find this…