--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since World War II, Japan has spawned…" description: "\"Since World War II, Japan has spawned enormous numbers of new religions featuring the supernatural… In Thailand, diseases are treated with pills manufa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/carl-sagan-160_atheist_since-world-war-ii-japan-has-spawned-eno_2437563.jpg" --- # Since World War II, Japan has spawned enormous numbers of… ![“Since World War II, Japan has spawned enormous numbers of new religions featuring the supernatural… In Thailand, diseases are treated with pills manufactured from pulverized sacred Scripture. Witches are today being burned in South Africa… The worldwide TM [Transcendental Meditation] organization…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/carl-sagan-160_atheist_since-world-war-ii-japan-has-spawned-eno_2437563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/carl-sagan-160_atheist_since-world-war-ii-japan-has-spawned-eno_2437563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/carl-sagan-160_atheist_since-world-war-ii-japan-has-spawned-eno_2437563.jpg) > “Since World War II, Japan has spawned enormous numbers of new religions featuring the supernatural… In Thailand, diseases are treated with pills manufactured from pulverized sacred Scripture. Witches are today being burned in South Africa… The worldwide TM \[Transcendental Meditation\] organization has an estimated valuation of $3 billion. For a fee, they promise to make you invisible, to enable you to fly.” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques the rise of pseudo‑spiritual movements and commercialized mysticism, highlighting absurd claims and exploitation. **In simple terms:** New religions and mystic claims often lack scientific basis and exploit believers. Key Takeaway Question and critically evaluate extraordinary claims. Themes skepticism science religion commercialization Mood analytical skeptical Type science culture critical thinking When to use this quote - health practices - spiritual markets - media coverage Key Concepts pseudoscience faith consumerism Questions to Reflect On - What criteria distinguish legitimate belief from exploitation? - How can scientific literacy address such phenomena? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize and dismiss genuine cultural practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Africa Worldwide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa-worldwide-360356/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Fees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fees/) [Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible/) [Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japan/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Pills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pills/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Sacred scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred-scripture/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [South africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-africa/) [Supernatural Thailand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernatural-thailand-360355/) [Thailand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thailand/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Transcendental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendental/) [Transcendental meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendental-meditation/) [Treated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treated/) [Valuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuation/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [Witch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war i](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-i/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) [Worldwide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldwide/) [Worldwide Tm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldwide-tm-360354/) ## Related quotes > [“Sacred Tradition predates and precedes Sacred Scripture, but both come from the same source: God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/consumer-dummies/sacred-tradition-predates-and-precedes-sacred-scripture-but-both-come/) [Consumer Dummies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/consumer-dummies/) > [Those who would be employed in propagating the Gospel should be familiar with the doctrines he is to combat and the doctrines he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/those-who-would-be-employed-in-propagating-the-gospel-should-be/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/ignorance-of-the-scriptures-is-ignorance-of-christ/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“The diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-currie/the-diligent-reading-of-sacred-scripture-accompanied-by-prayer-brings/) [David B Currie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-currie/) > [For nothing ought to be posited without a reason given, unless it is self-evident (literally, known through itself) or known by experience or proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/for-nothing-ought-to-be-posited-without-a-reason-given-unless-it-is/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [So we see, brethren and sisters that the words of Christ can be a personal Liahona for each of us, showing us the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-rolfe-kerr/so-we-see-brethren-and-sisters-that-the-words-of-christ-can-be-a/) [W. Rolfe Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-rolfe-kerr/) > [It is your organized religions that have made it clear through their most sacred scriptures that cruelty and killing is an acceptable response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-your-organized-religions-that-have-made-it-clear-through-their/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for "we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/and-let-them-remember-that-prayer-should-accompany-the-reading-of/) [Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/) > [In questions of this sort there are two things to be observed. First, that the truth of the Scriptures be inviolably maintained. Secondly, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/in-questions-of-this-sort-there-are-two-things-to-be-observed-first/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [There is a growing threat to the environment, to the vegetation, animals, water and air. Sacred Scripture hands us the image of Cain who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/there-is-a-growing-threat-to-the-environment-to-the-vegetation/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [The first priority will consist in restoring a sense of the acceptance of life as a gift from God. According to both Sacred Scripture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-first-priority-will-consist-in-restoring-a-sense-of-the/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Sacred scripture wishes simply to declare that the world was created by God, and in order to teach this truth it expressed itself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/sacred-scripture-wishes-simply-to-declare-that-the-world-was-created/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [ \[We need not think\] that there is any Contradiction, when Philosophy teaches that to be done by Nature; which Religion, and the Sacred Scriptures,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nehemiah-grew/we-need-not-think-that-there-is-any-contradiction-when-philosophy/) [Nehemiah Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nehemiah-grew/) > [We need not only read Sacred Scripture, but learn it as well and grow up in it. Realize that nothing is written in Scripture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/we-need-not-only-read-sacred-scripture-but-learn-it-as-well-and-grow/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [“Those who devote themselves to the study of Sacred Scripture should always remember that the various hermeneutical approaches have their own philosophical underpinnings, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-ii/those-who-devote-themselves-to-the-study-of-sacred-scripture-should/) [John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-ii/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [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/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Since World War II, Japan has spawned enormous numbers of new religions featuring the supernatural… In Thailand, diseases are treated with pills manufactured from pulverized sacred Scripture. 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