Religion Quote by Christopher Hitchens
““Religion invents a problem where none exists by describing the wicked as also made in the image of god and the sexually nonconformist as existing in a state of incurable mortal sin that can incidentally cause floods and earthquakes.””
About This Quote
Source Book: God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 2007
The quote argues that religion creates unnecessary moral dilemmas by equating evil with divine likeness and labeling nonconformity as sinful, leading to irrational fear and blame for natural disasters.
In simple terms: Religion invents moral problems that don’t exist.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about religious moral claims.
Themes
religion
morality
mythmaking
Mood
critical
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
skeptical
When to use this quote
- political debate
- interfaith dialogue
- education curricula
- media commentary
Key Concepts
theology
social control
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- How does labeling nonconformity as sinful affect social inclusion?
- Can moral frameworks exist without religious foundations?
A Different Perspective
Religious believers may view the critique as disrespectful or oversimplified.
![“Ours [religion] is without a doubt the most ridiculous, the most absurd, and the most bloody to ever infect the world.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9e3/voltaire-173_religion_ours-religion-is-without-a-doubt-the-mos_1591104.jpg)
![“It's [Los Angeles] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them aren't even young and beautiful now.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a86/christopher-hitchens-117_beautiful_it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense_10462.jpg)
![“[Religion] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we would not know an evil, wicked act from a decent human act without divine permission, without divine authority or without, even worse, either the fear of a…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ab6/christopher-hitchens-117_action_religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integ_23299.jpg)
