--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are able to justify immense…" description: "\"People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.\" — Desmond Tutu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/desmond-tutu-442_able_people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruel_52669.jpg" --- # People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it… ![“People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/desmond-tutu-442_able_people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruel_52669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/desmond-tutu-442_able_people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruel_52669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/desmond-tutu-442_able_people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruel_52669.jpg) > “People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith can be twisted to legitimize violence, showing how moral reasoning is often shaped by belief systems. **In simple terms:** Religion can mask cruelty. Key Takeaway Beware of moral justification through faith. Themes Morality Religion Justification Power Ethics Violence Mood Sombre Reflective Type Warning Observation When to use this quote - Political propaganda - Cult indoctrination - War crimes - Extremist recruitment - Social movements Key Concepts Moral relativism Authority Dogma Cognitive dissonance Practical Applications - Human rights education - Interfaith dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How does faith influence moral judgments? - When does belief become a shield for harm? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“what I want to show in my books and in my life is that you don't have to be like the miserable, angry people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/what-i-want-to-show-in-my-books-and-in-my-life-is-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Islam in its origins is just as shady and approximate as those from which it took its borrowings. It makes immense claims for itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/islam-in-its-origins-is-just-as-shady-and-approximate-as-those-from/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [You will find that the Bible, if you want it to, will justify many things. St. Paul had a very male chauvinistic view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/you-will-find-that-the-bible-if-you-want-it-to-will-justify-many/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [To be here is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/to-be-here-is-immense/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [The immense value of becoming acquainted with a foreign language is that we are thereby led into a new world of tradition and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/the-immense-value-of-becoming-acquainted-with-a-foreign-language-is/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [Over immense periods of time the intellect produced nothing but errors. A few of these proved to be useful and helped to preserve the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/over-immense-periods-of-time-the-intellect-produced-nothing-but/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [What an immense impression Paris made upon me. It is the most extraordinary place in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-an-immense-impression-paris-made-upon-me-it-is-the-most/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/immense-power-is-acquired-by-assuring-yourself-in-your-secret/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I've developed a huge regard for Toyota for its environmental awareness, for its immense commitment to research and development in this field, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/i-ve-developed-a-huge-regard-for-toyota-for-its-environmental/) [Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/) > [God and I have built an immense fire together. We keep each other happy and warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/god-and-i-have-built-an-immense-fire-together-we-keep-each-other/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People sometimes strive after and think they will find deep satisfaction for their psyches in wealth, sex or drugs, but then find that ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-sometimes-strive-after-and-think-they-will-find-deep/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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