“Religion is just mind control.”
Doin' It Again, Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics (1990)
Context: Same with religion. Religion is nothing but mind control. Religion is just trying to control your mind, control your thoughts, so they're gonna tell you some things you shouldn't say because they're... sins. And besides telling you things you shouldn't say, religion is gonna suggest some things that you ought to be saying; "Here's something you ought to say first thing when you wake up in the morning; here's something you ought to say just before you go to sleep at night; here's something we always say on the third Wednesday in April after the first full moon in spring at 4 o'clock when the bells ring." Religion is always suggesting things you ought to be saying.
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George Carlin 270
American stand-up comedian 1937–2008Related quotes
“The mind of a yogi is under his control; he is not under the control of his mind.”
Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 248
Context: It is not good for ordinary people to say, "I am He." The waves belong to the water. Does the water belong to the waves?
The upshot of the whole thing is that, no matter what path you follow, yoga is impossible unless the mind becomes quiet. The mind of a yogi is under his control; he is not under the control of his mind.
“Demons control all kinds of religions.”
Chick tracts, " What's Worse? http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1092/1092_01.asp" (2014)
“Religion is god's population-control tool.”
page 9
Dark Rooms (2002)
“You have two choices: to control your mind or to let your mind control you.”
Source: Veronika Decides to Die (1998)
Afterword to his short story "The Children's Story" (1963).
The Children's Story (1982)
Context: I asked all kinds of people of every age, "You know the 'I pledge allegiance…'" but before I could finish, at once they would all parrot it, the words almost always equally blurred. In every case discovered that not one teacher, ever — or anyone — had ever explained the words to any one of them. Everyone just had to learn it to say it. The Children's Story came into being that day. It was then that I realized how completely vulnerable my child's mind was — any mind for that matter — under controlled circumstances. Normally I write and rewrite and re-rewrite, but this story came quickly — almost by itself. Barely three words were changed. It pleases me greatly because it keeps asking me questions … Questions like what's the use of "I pledge allegiance" without understanding? Like why is it so easy to divert thoughts and implant others? Like what is freedom and why is it so hard to explain? The Children's Story keeps asking me all sorts of questions I cannot answer. Perhaps you can — then your children will…
Source: "Influence, Power, Religion, and the Mechanisms of Social Control," 1999, p. 161 Lead sentence