Behave Quote by Christopher Hitchens
“Well, I'll put it this way: you can certainly say belief in God makes people behave worse. That can be proved beyond a doubt.”
About This Quote
Source Debate: Religion and Morality, 2005
Belief in God can be empirically shown to worsen behavior, suggesting faith may have negative social effects.
In simple terms: God belief may lead to worse behavior.
Key Takeaway
Critically evaluate the impact of belief on actions.
Themes
religion
ethics
behavior
critique
science
Mood
controversial
analytical
Type
philosophical
debate
When to use this quote
- public policy
- education
- interpersonal relations
Key Concepts
moral philosophy
social psychology
empirical analysis
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence supports this claim?
- How do secular ideologies compare?
A Different Perspective
Not all religious belief leads to negative outcomes.
![“I remember clearly that when I was little it was explained to me [that] the way that babies were made was that God put the baby into some lady's stomach, right? And, at some point, I learned how it really happened, and really that was the beginning of the end of my belief in God. Up until that…” quote by Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/56a/ira-glass-2464_baby_i-remember-clearly-that-when-i-was-littl_234840.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)
