Although most audience members responded with approval to the controversial remarks, some found fault with his assumptions. One questioner accused Dawkins of basing his theory on the unproven premise that religion is false.

Lauren E. Tulp ’07 was also not entirely convinced by Dawkins’ theory. A practicing Roman Catholic, she said, “It was presumptuous to assume that everyone in the room was an atheist.”

Dawkins did, however, concede that there is a sort of religious quality that characterizes scientific phenomena.

“The sense of transcendence is something that is shared by those who don’t call themselves religious,” Dawkins said.

Dawkins will discuss the presence of religion in science at 5 p.m. today at Lowell Hall, as the second event of the Tanner Lectures on Human Values.

On Friday, he will conclude the lecture series with a seminar at the Wiener Auditorium at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.