---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alexander Berkman was a self-declared…"
description: "\"“ Alexander Berkman was a self-declared atheist attempting to lift the stultifying fog of the gods from the mind of humankind.”\" — David Burns"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg"
---

#  Alexander Berkman was a self-declared atheist attempting…

![“Alexander Berkman was a self-declared atheist attempting to lift the stultifying fog of the gods from the mind of humankind.” quote by David Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg)

> ““ Alexander Berkman was a self-declared atheist attempting to lift the stultifying fog of the gods from the mind of humankind.””

David Burns

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Berkman is described as an atheist who sought to free human thought from religious dogma.

**In simple terms:** Berkman fought against religious oppression.

Key Takeaway

Question dogmatic beliefs.

Themes

atheism freedom of thought social activism

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

Atheism:1 Atheist:1 Biography:1 Brainwashing:0 Deceit:0 Psychology:0 Declared Atheist:0 Fog Gods:0 Alexander Berkman:0 Berkman Self:0 Atheist Attempting:0

When to use this quote

- education
- public discourse
- critical thinking

Key Concepts

philosophy history

Questions to Reflect On

- What role does faith play in your life?
- How can you engage respectfully with differing beliefs?

A Different Perspective

Atheism may be contested by believers; dialogue is needed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biography/) [Brainwashing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brainwashing/) [Deceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceit/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/)

## Related quotes

> [“ Svante Arrhenius , recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry (1903), was a declared atheist and the author of The Evolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-stein/svante-arrhenius-recipient-of-the-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-1903-was-a/)

[Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-stein/)

> [The girl had hoped for fog, but the gods ignored her prayers as gods so often did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/the-girl-had-hoped-for-fog-but-the-gods-ignored-her-prayers-as-gods/)

[George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/)

> [“In the weeks leading up to his arrival by train in Pittsburgh, Alexander Berkman had been obsessed with the escalating drama at Homestead. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgrath-morris/in-the-weeks-leading-up-to-his-arrival-by-train-in-pittsburgh-2/)

[James McGrath Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgrath-morris/)

> [“In the weeks leading up to his arrival by train in Pittsburgh, Alexander Berkman had been obsessed with the escalating drama at Homestead. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgrath-morris/in-the-weeks-leading-up-to-his-arrival-by-train-in-pittsburgh/)

[James McGrath Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgrath-morris/)

> [It is no coincidence that one cardinal rule in brainwashing is to remove from the victim all photographs of himself and people he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/it-is-no-coincidence-that-one-cardinal-rule-in-brainwashing-is-to/)

[A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/)

> [If there is no word that means you don't have the concept. In North Korea they eliminate the words: depression, stress, dictatorship, human rights.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-yeon-mi/if-there-is-no-word-that-means-you-don-t-have-the-concept-in-north/)

[Park Yeon-mi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-yeon-mi/)

> [During my training I was trained in Psycho-politics. This was the art of capturing the minds of a nation through brainwashing and fake mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goff/during-my-training-i-was-trained-in-psycho-politics-this-was-the-art/)

Kenneth Goff

> [“A cult is a group of people who share an obsessive devotion to a person or idea. The cults described in this book use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-smith/a-cult-is-a-group-of-people-who-share-an-obsessive-devotion-to-a/)

[Margaret Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-smith/)

> [My family brainwashed me, like I'm brainwashing my children. They brainwashed me with good taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madlib/my-family-brainwashed-me-like-i-m-brainwashing-my-children-they/)

[Madlib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madlib/)

> [Maybe primitive people have less bullshit to let go of, to give up. A person has to be willing to give up everything—not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/maybe-primitive-people-have-less-bullshit-to-let-go-of-to-give-up-a/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

> [We need to be aware of all different forms of brainwashing and radicalization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-ward/we-need-to-be-aware-of-all-different-forms-of-brainwashing-and/)

[Clarissa Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-ward/)

> [“I don’t care what your excuse is, I don’t care what you think God told you to do, if you are in the business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/i-don-t-care-what-your-excuse-is-i-don-t-care-what-you-think-god-told/)

[Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/)

> [American acculturation is a very powerful form of brainwashing. I know more about it now, but it's very difficult to move away from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-burt/american-acculturation-is-a-very-powerful-form-of-brainwashing-i-know/)

[Dan Burt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-burt/)

> [“But there was nothing beautiful about the word "brainwash". To clean the brain. To strip it bare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-malley/but-there-was-nothing-beautiful-about-the-word-brainwash-to-clean-the/)

[Gemma Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-malley/)

> [Sometimes I think I'm a nihilist because it doesn't matter, none of this matters. We're all following the will of some unknowable higher power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/sometimes-i-think-i-m-a-nihilist-because-it-doesn-t-matter-none-of/)

[Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/)

## More Atheism quotes

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/)

[Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/)

[Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/)

> [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/)

[Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/)

> [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/)

[Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/)

> [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

[Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“ Alexander Berkman was a self-declared atheist attempting to lift the stultifying fog of the gods from the mind of humankind.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Burns"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burns/alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-atheist-attempting-to-lift-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atheism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burns/alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-atheist-attempting-to-lift-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/david-burns-231055_atheism_alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-at_2589461.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Alexander Berkman was a self-declared atheist attempting to lift the stultifying fog of the gods from the…” — David Burns",
                "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": "David Burns",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burns/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“ Alexander Berkman was a self-declared...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burns/alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-atheist-attempting-to-lift-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burns/alexander-berkman-was-a-self-declared-atheist-attempting-to-lift-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
