--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the religion which treats its flock as a…" description: "\"“the religion which treats its flock as a credulous plaything offers one of the cruelest spectacles that can be imagined: a human being in fear and dou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg" --- # the religion which treats its flock as a credulous… ![“the religion which treats its flock as a credulous plaything offers one of the cruelest spectacles that can be imagined: a human being in fear and doubt who is openly exploited to believe in the impossible” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg) > ““the religion which treats its flock as a credulous plaything offers one of the cruelest spectacles that can be imagined: a human being in fear and doubt who is openly exploited to believe in the impossible”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating believers as gullible playthings creates a cruel spectacle, exploiting fear and doubt for impossible beliefs. **In simple terms:** Exploiting faith is cruel. Key Takeaway Promote critical thinking and protect vulnerable minds. Themes religion exploitation fear critical thinking Mood critical concerned defiant Type analytical activist When to use this quote - cult dynamics - propaganda - spiritual manipulation Key Concepts ethical critique human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can we safeguard against manipulation? - What role does education play? A Different Perspective Not all religious practice is exploitative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-impossible/) [Credulous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credulous/) [Cruelest Spectacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelest-spectacles-4782474/) [Exploited Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploited-believe-4782475/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear And Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-and-doubt/) [Flock Credulous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flock-credulous-4782473/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [I don't consider myself to be that credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-don-t-consider-myself-to-be-that-credulous/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Demands that you believe the impossible do not lead to peaceful outcomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/demands-that-you-believe-the-impossible-do-not-lead-to-peaceful/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Modern man . . . has not ceased to be credulous . . . the need to believe haunts him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/modern-man-has-not-ceased-to-be-credulous-the-need-to-believe-haunts/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [O! Desolated Scotland, too credulous of fair speeches, and not aware of the calamities which are coming upon you! If you were to judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wallace/o-desolated-scotland-too-credulous-of-fair-speeches-and-not-aware-of/) [William Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wallace/) > [Modest wisdom plucks me from over-credulous haste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/modest-wisdom-plucks-me-from-over-credulous-haste/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [People in great institutions are occasionally credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-in-great-institutions-are-occasionally-credulous/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [When people are bewildered they tend to become credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/when-people-are-bewildered-they-tend-to-become-credulous/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-credulous-animal-and-must-believe-something-in-the-absence/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All people are most credulous when they are most happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/all-people-are-most-credulous-when-they-are-most-happy/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [“He who had been a boy very credulous of life was no longer greatly interested in the possible and improbable adventures of each new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-who-had-been-a-boy-very-credulous-of-life-was-no-longer-greatly/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Jealousy, an eminently credulous and suspicious passion, allows fancy the greatest possible play. But it does not bestow wit, it banishes all sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/jealousy-an-eminently-credulous-and-suspicious-passion-allows-fancy/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“A credulous mind . . . finds most delight in believing strange things, and the stranger they are the easier they pass with him;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-credulous-mind-finds-most-delight-in-believing-strange-things-and/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Some jerk infected the Internet with an outright lie. It shows how easy it is to do and how credulous people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-jerk-infected-the-internet-with-an-outright-lie-it-shows-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Credulous: having views about the world, the universe and humanity's place in it that are shared only by very unsophisticated people and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/credulous-having-views-about-the-world-the-universe-and-humanity-s/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Hatred as well as love, renders its votaries credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hatred-as-well-as-love-renders-its-votaries-credulous/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Credulous quotes > [Hatred as well as love, renders its votaries credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hatred-as-well-as-love-renders-its-votaries-credulous/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Credulous: having views about the world, the universe and humanity's place in it that are shared only by very unsophisticated people and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/credulous-having-views-about-the-world-the-universe-and-humanity-s/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Some jerk infected the Internet with an outright lie. It shows how easy it is to do and how credulous people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-jerk-infected-the-internet-with-an-outright-lie-it-shows-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A credulous mind . . . finds most delight in believing strange things, and the stranger they are the easier they pass with him;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-credulous-mind-finds-most-delight-in-believing-strange-things-and/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Jealousy, an eminently credulous and suspicious passion, allows fancy the greatest possible play. But it does not bestow wit, it banishes all sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/jealousy-an-eminently-credulous-and-suspicious-passion-allows-fancy/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“He who had been a boy very credulous of life was no longer greatly interested in the possible and improbable adventures of each new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-who-had-been-a-boy-very-credulous-of-life-was-no-longer-greatly/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [All people are most credulous when they are most happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/all-people-are-most-credulous-when-they-are-most-happy/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-credulous-animal-and-must-believe-something-in-the-absence/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [When people are bewildered they tend to become credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/when-people-are-bewildered-they-tend-to-become-credulous/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [People in great institutions are occasionally credulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-in-great-institutions-are-occasionally-credulous/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [Modest wisdom plucks me from over-credulous haste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/modest-wisdom-plucks-me-from-over-credulous-haste/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O! Desolated Scotland, too credulous of fair speeches, and not aware of the calamities which are coming upon you! If you were to judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wallace/o-desolated-scotland-too-credulous-of-fair-speeches-and-not-aware-of/) [William Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wallace/) > [Modern man . . . has not ceased to be credulous . . . the need to believe haunts him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/modern-man-has-not-ceased-to-be-credulous-the-need-to-believe-haunts/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ All this \[Paul's writing\] is nothing better than the jargon of a conjurer who picks up phrases he does not understand to confound the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/all-this-paul-s-writing-is-nothing-better-than-the-jargon-of-a/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The credulous ... advance the authority of hearsay in place of reasons for possible success or facts that can be demonstrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vannoccio-biringuccio/the-credulous-advance-the-authority-of-hearsay-in-place-of-reasons/) [Vannoccio Biringuccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vannoccio-biringuccio/) [Browse all 39 Credulous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credulous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the religion which treats its flock as a credulous plaything offers one of the cruelest spectacles that can be imagined: a human being in fear and doubt who is openly exploited to believe in the impossible”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a-credulous-plaything-offers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Credulous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a-credulous-plaything-offers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/christopher-hitchens-117_credulous_the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a_3003850.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the religion which treats its flock as a credulous plaything offers one of the cruelest spectacles that can…” — Christopher Hitchens", "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": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the religion which treats its flock...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a-credulous-plaything-offers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-religion-which-treats-its-flock-as-a-credulous-plaything-offers/#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 } } ] } ```