The sum of the crowd's IQ was far below that of its most modest single member. Mobs have passions, not brains.

As for the depiction of the Catholic church, it's not meant to be a prediction

I despair at the rise of modern violence. I truly give in to despair at times, that deep, futureless pit of despair.... I watch the American slaughterhouse, the casual attacks on popes, presidents, and uncounted others, and I wonder if there are many more out there with the Ability or if butchery has simply become the modern way of life.

But I think, and hope, that the novels can be understood and enjoyed as science fiction, on their own terms.

Religion seems to have always offered us that false duality ... the silences of infinite space or the cozy comfort of inner certainty.

All of our lives are governed by a certain degree of faith in bullshit.

I think all the simple things can and do still work - holding your child's hand while walking across the street will do it. But we can hardly hear it for all the noise which has turned love into a cliche, and most people can't even hear John Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" anymore without wincing.