SCIENTIST and author Richard Dawkins will present An Argument For Atheism at York Theatre Royal on September 30.

At this Penguin Live event, Dawkins will ask: "Should we believe in God? Do we need God in order to explain the existence of the universe? Do we need God in order to be good?"

The author of The Selfish Gene will be launching his new book, Outgrowing God, and each ticket purchase will include a discounted copy.

In his 7.30pm talk, Dawkins will "help us rethink the Big Questions and challenges us all, young and old, to understand how our world came into being".

The Selfish Gene was voted The Royal Society's Most Inspiring Science Book of All Time. Dawkins also has written The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, The Ancestor's Tale, The God Delusion and two volumes of autobiography, An Appetite For Wonder and Brief Candle In The Dark.

Dawkins is a Fellow of New College, Oxford and both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature. In 2013, he was voted the world’s top thinker in Prospect magazine’s poll of 10,000 readers from more than 100 countries.

Tickets are on sale at £26.50 on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.