Moderation allows extremism to happen.

"Moderation in religion, where religion, remember is faith not based on evidence, is kind of cloak of respectability under which extremes can hide.

It [moderation] does provide a kind of smokescreen in which extremism can flourish, more than a smokescreen actually, because if you think about the respect, let's come back to the point of respect, we are all supposed to respect faith.

So if somebody says, "That's my faith," then you're not supposed to say well justify it because faith is not justifiable, you don't attempt to justify faith.

Now if children have been brought up by moderate teachers to regard faith as a virtue, then a minority of them are going to use that faith and use the fact that faith is respectable to justify doing extreme things which of course the moderates wouldn't dream of doing."

---Richard Dawkins, interview on BBC HardTalk, August 05, 2007,