“I do not think that the real reason why people accept religion has anything to do with argumentation. They accept religion on emotional grounds. One is often told that it is a very wrong thing to attack religion, because religion makes men virtuous. So I am told; I have not noticed it.”

"The Emotional Factor"
1920s, Why I Am Not a Christian (1927)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 29, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I do not think that the real reason why people accept religion has anything to do with argumentation. They accept relig…" by Bertrand Russell?
Bertrand Russell photo
Bertrand Russell 562
logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and politi… 1872–1970

Related quotes

Bertrand Russell photo

“One is often told that it is a very wrong thing to attack religion, because religion makes men virtuous. So I am told; I have not noticed it.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

"The Emotional Factor"
1920s, Why I Am Not a Christian (1927)
Context: I do not think that the real reason why people accept religion has anything to do with argumentation. They accept religion on emotional grounds. One is often told that it is a very wrong thing to attack religion, because religion makes men virtuous. So I am told; I have not noticed it.

Malcolm X photo

“I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won't let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion.”

Malcolm X (1925–1965) American human rights activist

By any means necessary: speeches, interviews, and a letter (1970)

David Silverman photo

“What I am doing is not giving religion respect that it wants but it doesn't deserve. I respect people; I respect humans. I do not respect religion. And I do not respect the idea that religion deserves respect.”

David Silverman (1957) American animator and director

2012-03-23
Atheist organizer takes ‘movement’ to nation’s capital
Dan Merica
Belief Blog
CNN
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/23/atheist-organizer-takes-movement-to-nations-capital/

Hazrat Inayat Khan photo
Bertrand Russell photo

“If religion doesn't make people good, why do people think that it does? Simple: Because religion teaches that it makes people good. It’s part of its sales pitch. But it's also quite possibly untrue.”

Source: Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life: How Evolutionary Theory Undermines Everything You Think You Know (2010), p. 290

Sean O`Casey photo
G. K. Chesterton photo
Albert Einstein photo

“I do not accept a religion of fear; My God will not hold me responsible for the actions that necessity imposes.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Source: Attributed in posthumous publications, Einstein and the Poet (1983), p. 89
Context: The God Spinoza revered is my God, too: I meet Him everyday in the harmonious laws which govern the universe. My religion is cosmic, and my God is too universal to concern himself with the intentions of every human being. I do not accept a religion of fear; My God will not hold me responsible for the actions that necessity imposes. My God speaks to me through laws.

Related topics