Asks Quote by Christopher Hitchens
“Religion is poison because it asks us to give up our most precious faculty, which is that of reason, and to believe things without evidence. It then asks us to respect this, which it calls faith.”
About This Quote
Source Book: God Is Not Great, 2006
Religion is portrayed as demanding faith over reason, discouraging evidence‑based belief.
In simple terms: Religion trades reason for faith.
Key Takeaway
Question faith, value reason.
Themes
religion
reason
faith
skepticism
Mood
critical
contemplative
Type
philosophical
controversial
When to use this quote
- debates
- personal belief
- education
- public policy
- scientific discourse
Key Concepts
atheism
critical thinking
epistemology
Questions to Reflect On
- What role does community play in belief?
- Can reason and faith coexist?
A Different Perspective
Faith can provide comfort and community, which reason alone may not.
![“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)
