--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think your belief is based upon…" description: "\"If you think your belief is based upon reason, you will support it by argument rather than by persecution, and will abandon it if the argument goes aga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/bertrand-russell-69_abandon_if-you-think-your-belief-is-based-upon-r_3235220.jpg" --- # If you think your belief is based upon reason, you will… ![“If you think your belief is based upon reason, you will support it by argument rather than by persecution, and will abandon it if the argument goes against you. But if your belief is based upon faith, you will realize that argument is useless, and will therefore resort to force either in the form…” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/bertrand-russell-69_abandon_if-you-think-your-belief-is-based-upon-r_3235220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/bertrand-russell-69_abandon_if-you-think-your-belief-is-based-upon-r_3235220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/bertrand-russell-69_abandon_if-you-think-your-belief-is-based-upon-r_3235220.jpg) > “If you think your belief is based upon reason, you will support it by argument rather than by persecution, and will abandon it if the argument goes against you. But if your belief is based upon faith, you will realize that argument is useless, and will therefore resort to force either in the form of persecution or by stunting or distorting the minds of the young in what is called 'education.'” [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reasoned belief invites debate and can be abandoned when contradicted; faith‑based belief resists argument and may turn to coercion or indoctrination. **In simple terms:** Reasoned belief can change; faith often resists change. Key Takeaway Question arguments, not force, when beliefs are challenged. Themes philosophy religion epistemology Mood thoughtful critical concerned Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - political discourse - education policy - religious instruction - family upbringing Key Concepts rationalism dogmatism authority Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate healthy skepticism from hostile dogma? - What role should education play in challenging beliefs? A Different Perspective Faith can be weaponized, leading to oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecution/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Stunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stunting/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The argument against the persecution of opinion does not depend upon what the excuse for persecution may be. The argument is that we none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-argument-against-the-persecution-of-opinion-does-not-depend-upon/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Authority is first and foremost based on reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/authority-is-first-and-foremost-based-on-reason/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [As soon as a thought or word becomes a tool, one can dispense with actually 'thinking' it, that is, with going through the logical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-horkheimer/as-soon-as-a-thought-or-word-becomes-a-tool-one-can-dispense-with/) [Max Horkheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-horkheimer/) > [Action based on reason, action therefore which is only to be understood by reason, knows only one end, the greatest pleasure of the acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/action-based-on-reason-action-therefore-which-is-only-to-be/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [“Book knowledge takes action based on reasons; common sense takes action based on the reason from the reasons!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/book-knowledge-takes-action-based-on-reasons-common-sense-takes/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [The millions of dollars which we devote every year to high-school education are, for the most part, money spent for the retarding of intelligence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-iddings-bell/the-millions-of-dollars-which-we-devote-every-year-to-high-school/) [Bernard Iddings Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-iddings-bell/) > [I should like to raise the question whether the inevitable stunting of the sense of smell as a result of man's turning away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-should-like-to-raise-the-question-whether-the-inevitable-stunting/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Swimmin in the money come and find me, NEMO.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/swimmin-in-the-money-come-and-find-me-nemo/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Burn bread every day boy, no toaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/burn-bread-every-day-boy-no-toaster/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [The same niggas I ball with, I fall with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/the-same-niggas-i-ball-with-i-fall-with/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I didn't want to limit my income so I decided to master all aspects of stunting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-needham/i-didn-t-want-to-limit-my-income-so-i-decided-to-master-all-aspects/) [Hal Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-needham/) > [I am spending much more than I'm making on these cars and these vacations, is that too much information?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-am-spending-much-more-than-i-m-making-on-these-cars-and-these/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Just call me 'Shoppin Bag Drizzy'. And call me 'Mr Damn, He Aint Coppin That Is He?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/just-call-me-shoppin-bag-drizzy-and-call-me-mr-damn-he-aint-coppin/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Stuntin' it's the term broke-ass mothafuckas can't afford to mention...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-quperlier/stuntin-it-s-the-term-broke-ass-mothafuckas-can-t-afford-to-mention/) [Simon Quperlier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-quperlier/) ## More by Bertrand Russell > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. 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