Source: Black Beauty (1877), Ch. XIII, p. 66
Source: Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life: How Evolutionary Theory Undermines Everything You Think You Know (2010), p. 290
Statement of 1961, as quoted in Locked Minds, Modern Myths (1997) by T. N. Madan <!-- Oxford University Press, Delhi -->
“Talk about it as much as you like,—one's breeding shows itself nowhere more than in his religion.”
The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table (1858)
Edicts of Ashoka (c. 257 BC)
Context: Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, honors both ascetics and the householders of all religions, and he honors them with gifts and honors of various kinds. But Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, does not value gifts and honors as much as he values this — that there should be growth in the essentials of all religions. Growth in essentials can be done in different ways, but all of them have as their root restraint in speech, that is, not praising one's own religion, or condemning the religion of others without good cause. And if there is cause for criticism, it should be done in a mild way. But it is better to honor other religions for this reason. By so doing, one's own religion benefits, and so do other religions, while doing otherwise harms one's own religion and the religions of others. Whoever praises his own religion, due to excessive devotion, and condemns others with the thought "Let me glorify my own religion," only harms his own religion. Therefore contact (between religions) is good. One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others. Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, desires that all should be well-learned in the good doctrines of other religions.
“A nation without a religion - that is like a man without breath.”
Volk ohne Religion, das ist so wie Mensch ohne Atem.
Michael: a German fate in diary notes (1926)
“Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers.”
Interview in Playboy (November 1999)
Context: Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business. I live by the golden rule: Treat others as you'd want them to treat you. The religious right wants to tell people how to live.
Interview on ABC's "Life with Kelly and Michael", as quoted in "Trump: Muslim ban 'not about religion'" http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/262615-trump-muslim-ban-not-about-religion by Jesse Byrnes, The Hill (9 December 2015)
2010s, 2015
Source: The Story of his Life Told by Himself (1898), p. 48
