--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The propensity of Americans, evangelicals…" description: "\"“The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among them, to replace decisions of conscience with unthinking, pragmatic choices—especially when health is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg" --- # The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among them, to… ![“The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among them, to replace decisions of conscience with unthinking, pragmatic choices—especially when health is at stake—may have an unforeseen consequence for those who have freed themselves from external tyranny: subjection to internal tyranny of ignorance.” quote by Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg) > ““The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among them, to replace decisions of conscience with unthinking, pragmatic choices—especially when health is at stake—may have an unforeseen consequence for those who have freed themselves from external tyranny: subjection to internal tyranny of ignorance.”” [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often trade moral judgment for convenient, short‑term solutions, especially regarding health, leading to a hidden oppression of ignorance. **In simple terms:** Choosing convenience over conscience creates hidden oppression. Key Takeaway Beware convenience that silences conscience. Themes morality health ignorance freedom Mood concerned thoughtful Type critical ethical When to use this quote - public health policy - personal health choices - religious counseling - education programs Key Concepts pragmatism ethical decision‑making internal oppression Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance practical needs with moral convictions? - What hidden costs arise from ignoring conscience? A Different Perspective Convenient choices may still cause harm if not examined critically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ## Related quotes > [The hungry world cannot be fed until and unless the growth of its resources and the growth of its population come into balance. Each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/the-hungry-world-cannot-be-fed-until-and-unless-the-growth-of-its/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [To rail and rant against tyranny is to manifest inferiority, for there is no tyranny but ignorance; to be conscious of one's powers is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-c-riegel/to-rail-and-rant-against-tyranny-is-to-manifest-inferiority-for-there/) [E.C. Riegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-c-riegel/) > [Mirthfulness is in the mind and you cannot get it out. It is just as good in its place as conscience or veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirthfulness-is-in-the-mind-and-you-cannot-get-it-out-it-is-just-as/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Thou knowest that these things which I say are true, and that I was never delighted in my own praise, for the secret of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius-d-524/thou-knowest-that-these-things-which-i-say-are-true-and-that-i-was/) Boethius D. 524 > [A clear conscience is the softest pillow in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-r-narayana-murthy/a-clear-conscience-is-the-softest-pillow-in-the-world/) [N. R. Narayana Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-r-narayana-murthy/) > [A clere conscience is a sure carde.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/a-clere-conscience-is-a-sure-carde/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) ## More by Candy Gunther Brown > [“Evangelicals who disdain religious combinations as idolatrous worship of other gods domesticate healing practices rooted in and productive of metaphysical religion by linguistically reclassifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/evangelicals-who-disdain-religious-combinations-as-idolatrous-worship/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“Asking Do Chiropractors Pray? in a book by that title, B. J. Palmer answered definitively that “no Chiropractor would pray on his knees in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/asking-do-chiropractors-pray-in-a-book-by-that-title-b-j-palmer/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“Gotquestions.org describes acupuncture as “rooted in superstition, occultism, and false religions that are in direct opposition to God’s Word” yet vindicates Christian participation by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/gotquestions-org-describes-acupuncture-as-rooted-in-superstition/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“In today’s cultural climate, it is hard to imagine the NCCAM funding research on the efficacy of Christian healing-prayer practices, although numerous published studies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/in-today-s-cultural-climate-it-is-hard-to-imagine-the-nccam-funding/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“According to chiropractic historian Joseph Donahue, 80 percent of chiropractors “evade professional accountability” by firing at patients a “barrage of quasi-scientific information” about particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/according-to-chiropractic-historian-joseph-donahue-80-percent-of/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“Although interpreted as nonreligious, chiropractic is premised on a vitalistic, harmonial philosophy and fulfills many of the same functions as religion. More than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/although-interpreted-as-nonreligious-chiropractic-is-premised-on-a/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“The “typical North American chiropractor,” regardless of whether a broad scope/mixer (34 percent), a focused scope/straight (19 percent), or a middle scope (47 percent),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/the-typical-north-american-chiropractor-regardless-of-whether-a-broad/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“Homeopaths make medicines out of such unlikely substances as dog’s ear wax, dental plaque, vomit, tears from a weeping young girl, polyurethane, Braille paper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/homeopaths-make-medicines-out-of-such-unlikely-substances-as-dog-s/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) > [“Claiming devotion to Jesus is the ultimate evangelical argument stopper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/claiming-devotion-to-jesus-is-the-ultimate-evangelical-argument/) [Candy Gunther Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) [Explore all 10 Candy Gunther Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among them, to replace decisions of conscience with unthinking, pragmatic choices—especially when health is at stake—may have an unforeseen consequence for those who have freed themselves from external tyranny: subjection to internal tyranny of ignorance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Candy Gunther Brown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals-among-them-to-replace/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals-among-them-to-replace/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/candy-gunther-brown-40691_ethics_the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals_2028141.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among them, to replace decisions of conscience with unthinking…” — Candy Gunther Brown", "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": "Candy Gunther Brown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-gunther-brown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The propensity of Americans, evangelicals among...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals-among-them-to-replace/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-gunther-brown/the-propensity-of-americans-evangelicals-among-them-to-replace/#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 } } ] } ```