--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sins are indispensable to every society…" description: "\"Sins are indispensable to every society organized on an ecclesiastical basis; they are the only reliable weapons of power; the priest lives upon sins; ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg" --- # Sins are indispensable to every society organized on an… ![“Sins are indispensable to every society organized on an ecclesiastical basis; they are the only reliable weapons of power; the priest lives upon sins; it is necessary to him that there be sinning.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg) > “Sins are indispensable to every society organized on an ecclesiastical basis; they are the only reliable weapons of power; the priest lives upon sins; it is necessary to him that there be sinning.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nietzsche argues that organized religion relies on sin as a tool of control, making sin essential for its power structure. **In simple terms:** Religion uses sin to maintain authority. Key Takeaway Recognize how institutions may exploit moral concepts. Themes power religion morality control Mood critical skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political discourse - theological critique - social analysis Key Concepts existentialism critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How do modern secular societies maintain authority? - Can power exist without moral transgression? A Different Perspective Religions can adapt without sin, challenging the claim. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable/) [Indispensable Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable-society-4322741/) [Necessary Sinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-sinning-6035381/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinner/) [Sinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinning/) [Sins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sins/) [Sins Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sins-indispensable-6035380/) [Sins Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sins-necessary-1288524/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [The university's business is the conservation of useless knowledge; and what the university itself apparently fails to see is that this enterprise is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/the-university-s-business-is-the-conservation-of-useless-knowledge/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [Ideology... is indispensable in any society if men are to be formed, transformed and equipped to respond to the demands of their conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/ideology-is-indispensable-in-any-society-if-men-are-to-be-formed/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [“Many who have undertaken the work of the ministry, do so obstinately proceed in self-seeking, negligence, pride, and other sins, that it is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/many-who-have-undertaken-the-work-of-the-ministry-do-so-obstinately/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [It was not the people or the Roman soldiers who put Jesus on the cross - it was your sins and my sins that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/it-was-not-the-people-or-the-roman-soldiers-who-put-jesus-on-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If there is to be art, if there is to be any aesthetic doing and seeing, one physiological condition is indispensable: frenzy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/if-there-is-to-be-art-if-there-is-to-be-any-aesthetic-doing-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [When you live in holiness, when you really try to stop sinning, you become braver. You become more courageous, you become a man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-caviezel/when-you-live-in-holiness-when-you-really-try-to-stop-sinning-you/) [Jim Caviezel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-caviezel/) > [Sinning persons are just like this boy who fell into the drain. Now, high or low, upgraded or degraded, all are equal. All are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabhat-ranjan-sarkar/sinning-persons-are-just-like-this-boy-who-fell-into-the-drain-now/) [Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabhat-ranjan-sarkar/) > [The reason for not going out and sinning all you like is the same as the reason for not going out and putting your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-reason-for-not-going-out-and-sinning-all-you-like-is-the-same-as/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [It seems the more I think about not sinning, the more I sin, but the more I think about just loving Jesus, the less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/it-seems-the-more-i-think-about-not-sinning-the-more-i-sin-but-the/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [What is all this juice and all this joy? A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning In Eden garden.-Have, get, before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/what-is-all-this-juice-and-all-this-joy-a-strain-of-the-earth-s-sweet/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [I want no Christmas without a burden for lost souls, a message for sinners, a heart to bring in the lost sheep so dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-rice/i-want-no-christmas-without-a-burden-for-lost-souls-a-message-for/) [John R. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-rice/) > [As you can see from 'Symptomatic of a relationship gone sour' I have definitely done my fair share of sinning, so I just want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-fox/as-you-can-see-from-symptomatic-of-a-relationship-gone-sour-i-have/) [Julia Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-fox/) > [Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/praying-and-sinning-will-never-live-together-in-the-same-heart-prayer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Berating ourselves for our flaws and our weakness only serves to undermine our strength to become. Repenting from our sin is essential. Beating ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stasi-eldredge/berating-ourselves-for-our-flaws-and-our-weakness-only-serves-to/) [Stasi Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stasi-eldredge/) > [Jesus Himself was criticized. He wasn't a glutton and drunkard, but He was accused of being those things. Why? Because He went to parties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/jesus-himself-was-criticized-he-wasn-t-a-glutton-and-drunkard-but-he/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## 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": "Sins are indispensable to every society organized on an ecclesiastical basis; they are the only reliable weapons of power; the priest lives upon sins; it is necessary to him that there be sinning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society-organized-on-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society-organized-on-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society_783986.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sins are indispensable to every society organized on an ecclesiastical basis; they are the only reliable…” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sins are indispensable to every society...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society-organized-on-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/sins-are-indispensable-to-every-society-organized-on-an/#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 } } ] } ```