--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the religion of ignorance that…" description: "\"It is the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.\" — Benjamin Franklin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png" --- # It is the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins. ![“It is the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.” quote by Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png) > “It is the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.” [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignorance fuels tyranny; lack of knowledge enables oppressive power. **In simple terms:** Ignorance leads to tyranny. Key Takeaway Promote education to prevent oppression. Themes education politics power ignorance Mood thoughtful concerned Type political philosophical When to use this quote - public policy - school curricula - media literacy - civic engagement Key Concepts democracy authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies combat ignorance? - What role does critical thinking play? A Different Perspective Even educated societies can fall prey to misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-tyranny-1244819/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-ignorance-3912524/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Tyranny Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny-begins-315997/) [Tyranny founding fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny-founding-fathers/) ## Related quotes > [A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-nation-of-well-informed-men-who-have-been-taught-to-know-and-prize/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The bondage we are born into is the bondage we cannot see. Verily, freedom is little more than the ignorance of tyranny. Live long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/the-bondage-we-are-born-into-is-the-bondage-we-cannot-see-verily/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Long since I have liberated my self from race, religion and ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnjwillard/long-since-i-have-liberated-my-self-from-race-religion-and-ignorance/) [johnjwillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnjwillard/) > [Unlimited power corrupts the possessor; and this I know, that, where law ends, there tyranny begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/unlimited-power-corrupts-the-possessor-and-this-i-know-that-where-law/) [William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. 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Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/give-me-26-lead-soldiers-and-i-will-conquer-the-world/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/in-the-affairs-of-this-world-men-are-saved-not-by-faith-but-by-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I have thought that wild flowers might be the alphabet of angels, — whereby they write on hills and fields mysterious truths, which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-have-thought-that-wild-flowers-might-be-the-alphabet-of-angels/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [How do you become better tomorrow? By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/how-do-you-become-better-tomorrow-by-improving-yourself-the-world-is/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Little leaks sink the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/little-leaks-sink-the-ship/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/who-is-rich-he-that-is-content-who-is-that-nobody/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“But on the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/but-on-the-whole-though-i-never-arrived-at-the-perfection-i-had-been/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The good particular men may do separately, in relieving the sick, is small, compared with what they may do collectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-good-particular-men-may-do-separately-in-relieving-the-sick-is/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Love your Neighbour; yet don't pull down your Hedge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/love-your-neighbour-yet-don-t-pull-down-your-hedge/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/take-counsel-in-wine-but-resolve-afterwards-in-water/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [He that's secure is not safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-s-secure-is-not-safe/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) [Explore all 1,692 Benjamin Franklin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) [John P Lintz Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-lintz-sr/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Franklin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyranny-begins/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyranny-begins/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/731/benjamin-franklin-65_ignorance_it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyr_2058084.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.” — Benjamin Franklin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Franklin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the religion of ignorance...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyranny-begins/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-the-religion-of-ignorance-that-tyranny-begins/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```