An evolutionary biologist has claimed that fairy tales are harmful to children because they "inculcate a view of the world which includes supernaturalism."
Professor Richard Dawkins, a leading atheist and author of books including The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, told an audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival that he stopped believing in religion when he was about eight after having seen through Santa Claus when he was just 21 months old.
He suggested children should be taught scientific rigour from an early age.
According to The Daily Telegraph, he said that it is not a good thing to go along with the fantasies of childhood, we should not foster a spirit of skepticism.
He thinks that it's rather pernicious to inculcate into a child a view of the world which includes supernaturalism.