[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]

A Michigan country club has nixed an appearance by outspoken religion critic Richard Dawkins after catching wind of the fact that he’s an atheist.

Mr Dawkins was to speak at the Wyndgate Country Club tonight in an event sponsored by the Center for Inquiry, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a secular society through education, advocacy and research, according to the group’s website.

But when top brass at the club saw Mr Dawkins’ appearance on The O’Reilly Factor last week and learned that he was an atheist, the event was rejected.
Mr Dawkins told the Detroit Free Press that the country club’s actions are 'sheer bigotry.'

The event, a $95-a-plate affair, was moved to the Royal Park Hotel, several miles away.

He said: 'If the country club had said, "I'm not having Dawkins speak because he's a jewish, or because he's black, or because he's gay," they would never get away with it.'

Jeff Seaver, executive director of CFI–Michigan said in a statement: 'It’s important to understand that discrimination based on a person's religion - or lack thereof - is legally equivalent to discriminating against a person because of his or her race.