Steven Gould's liberal and humanistic view as represented in his remarks is certainly the only civilized way to think about this issue, but Gould himself was demonized and despised by fundamentalists for his cogent defense of Darwinism and other concepts not to their liking. I recall expressions of glee and celebration when he died, and the sincere hope that he would suffer an eternity of torment in Hell. In another age, not all that long ago, (one viewed with fond nostalgia by those same fundamentalists), his physical safety and even his life would have been threatened by his views and beliefs.

The danger in any superstition is not that someone might believe it, but that they can use that belief to justify violence against those who don't. It is no coincidence that religious fanaticism is being nurtured and exploited, excused and pandered to, by political extremists who may not themselves share in that fanaticism or even in that theology.

The idea that the universe was created, and may even be managed, by a powerful "supernatural" intelligence, is a perfectly reasonable hypothesis, and certainly cannot even be ruled out.
But the idea that those who believe this can tap into that authority to control others is repulsive to me, as are those who seek to ally themselves with that bottomless well of hate for their own cynical purposes. The fanatic can be forgiven, he at least sincerely believes his own nonsense. The opportunists who seek him out to further their own agenda, cannot.