The New Humanist hands out a yearly slap-in-the-face to the most deserving noisy believer of the year — last year's winner was Sarah Palin — and this year they have a full slate of worthy apologists for superstition. It's an internet poll, but who should win this one isn't at all obvious — they're all contemptible. Here are the results so far:
Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya
94 (8%)
Anjem Choudary
72 (6%)
Anthony Bush
22 (1%)
British Chiropractic Association
197 (16%)
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor
51 (4%)
Dermot Aherne
84 (7%)
Damian Thompson
66 (5%)
Pope Benedict XVI
388 (33%)
Terry Eagleton & Karen Armstrong
57 (4%)
Tony Blair
128 (11%)
I think it's sweet that the Pope is in the lead, since he is a traditional favorite and the Church has done such a good job of stepping in the malodorous mushy fecal slime of evil this year. I'm also fond of Cormac Murphy O'Connor for decreeing that atheists are "not fully human," a state to which I aspire but am constantly foiled by my merely human genetics and physiology. My clicky finger was also drawn to Oktar, who is not only a creationist of the foulest, dumbest sort, but may even be clinically insane. I finally voted for Eagleton/Armstrong, simply because I think their brand of gooey, meaningless drivel is far more common than Christian or Islamic fanaticism, and they represent it so well.
But don't use my choice as a guide! This is one of those polls where it wouldn't be bad if it ended up in a 10-way tie.