--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are unlikely to cease making gods or…" description: "\"“We are unlikely to cease making gods or inventing ceremonies to please them for as long as we are afraid of death, or of the dark, and for as long as ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/christopher-hitchens-117_afraid-of-death_we-are-unlikely-to-cease-making-gods-or_1278549.jpg" --- # We are unlikely to cease making gods or inventing… ![“We are unlikely to cease making gods or inventing ceremonies to please them for as long as we are afraid of death, or of the dark, and for as long as we persist in self-centeredness. That could be a lengthy stretch of time. However, it is just as certain that we shall continue to cast a skeptical…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/christopher-hitchens-117_afraid-of-death_we-are-unlikely-to-cease-making-gods-or_1278549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/christopher-hitchens-117_afraid-of-death_we-are-unlikely-to-cease-making-gods-or_1278549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/christopher-hitchens-117_afraid-of-death_we-are-unlikely-to-cease-making-gods-or_1278549.jpg) > ““We are unlikely to cease making gods or inventing ceremonies to please them for as long as we are afraid of death, or of the dark, and for as long as we persist in self-centeredness. That could be a lengthy stretch of time. However, it is just as certain that we shall continue to cast a skeptical and ironic and even witty eye on what we have ourselves invented. If religion is innate in us, then so is our doubt of it and our contempt for our own weakness.”” [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. Human beings create deities and rituals to cope with mortality and fear, yet also possess an innate skepticism that questions those very creations. **In simple terms:** We make gods to avoid death, but also doubt them. Key Takeaway Recognize both belief and doubt within yourself. Themes faith mortality skepticism human nature existential fear Mood thoughtful critical introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - public debate - educational curricula - media analysis Key Concepts atheism psychology cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance reverence for tradition with critical inquiry? - What role does fear play in your own belief systems? A Different Perspective Skepticism can be dismissed as cynicism, limiting constructive dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid of death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-of-death/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Gods Inventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-inventing-1726635/) [Innate Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innate-doubt-4122474/) [Invented Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-religion-2206351/) [Making Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-gods-1726637/) [Skeptical Ironic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeptical-ironic-4122475/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We are unlikely to cease making gods or inventing ceremonies to please them for as long as we are afraid of death, or of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-are-unlikely-to-cease-making-gods-or-inventing-ceremonies-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Hell must be a pretty swell spot, because theguys that invented religion have sure beentrying hard to keep everybody else out.— Al Capone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hell-must-be-a-pretty-swell-spot-because-theguys-that-invented/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have not seen any Christian sparrow or Muslim lion or Jewish elephant! Animals are lucky as they have not yet invented the religion!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-have-not-seen-any-christian-sparrow-or-muslim-lion-or-jewish/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Quality is the continuing stimulus which causes us to create the world in which we live. All of it. Every last bit of it.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/quality-is-the-continuing-stimulus-which-causes-us-to-create-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Humankind invented clocks to define eternity just as humankind invented religion to define God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suki-michelle/humankind-invented-clocks-to-define-eternity-just-as-humankind/) [Suki Michelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suki-michelle/) > [Surely the ass who invented the first religion ought to be the first ass damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-religion-ought-to-be-the-first/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Hell must be a pretty swell spot, because the guys that invented religion have sure been trying hard to keep everybody else out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/hell-must-be-a-pretty-swell-spot-because-the-guys-that-invented/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [I turn people into human beings by not making them into gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-turn-people-into-human-beings-by-not-making-them-into-gods/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [We are making gods out of global celebrities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-joan-smith/we-are-making-gods-out-of-global-celebrities/) [Elizabeth Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-joan-smith/) > [“The first men to be created and formed were called the Sorcerer of Fatal Laughter, the Sorcerer of Night, Unkempt, and the Black Sorcerer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-men-to-be-created-and-formed-were-called-the-sorcerer-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-is-certainly-stark-mad-he-cannot-make-a-worm-and-yet-he-will-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, I turn people into human beings by not making them into gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/well-i-turn-people-into-human-beings-by-not-making-them-into-gods/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [The universe is a machine for the making of Gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-universe-is-a-machine-for-the-making-of-gods/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [To me, man means awareness of death. I am not saying become afraid of death; that is not awareness. Just be aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-me-man-means-awareness-of-death-i-am-not-saying-become-afraid-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) ## 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. 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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 Afraid of death quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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