--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religious doctrines would do well to…" description: "\"Religious doctrines would do well to withdraw their pretension to be dealing with matters of fact. That pretension is not only the source of the confli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/george-santayana-478_atheism_religious-doctrines-would-do-well-to-wit_633777.png" --- # Religious doctrines would do well to withdraw their… ![“Religious doctrines would do well to withdraw their pretension to be dealing with matters of fact. That pretension is not only the source of the conflicts of religion with science and the vain and bitter controversies of sects; it is also the cause of the impurity and incoherence of religion in…” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/george-santayana-478_atheism_religious-doctrines-would-do-well-to-wit_633777.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/george-santayana-478_atheism_religious-doctrines-would-do-well-to-wit_633777.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/george-santayana-478_atheism_religious-doctrines-would-do-well-to-wit_633777.png) > “Religious doctrines would do well to withdraw their pretension to be dealing with matters of fact. That pretension is not only the source of the conflicts of religion with science and the vain and bitter controversies of sects; it is also the cause of the impurity and incoherence of religion in the soul.” [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion should avoid claiming factual authority, as pretension fuels conflict with science and internal incoherence. **In simple terms:** Religion should not claim factual authority. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of religious claims. Themes faith science conflict truth Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - science education - personal belief - public policy Key Concepts epistemology dogma spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can faith coexist with scientific inquiry? - What practices reduce doctrinal pretension? A Different Perspective Rigid religious claims can alienate believers and non‑believers alike. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Controversy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversy/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Impurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impurity/) [Incoherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incoherence/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Pretension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretension/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sects/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [If the truth of religious doctrines is dependent on an inner experience that bears witness to the truth, what is one to make of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/if-the-truth-of-religious-doctrines-is-dependent-on-an-inner/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Nonetheless, it still remains true that as a set of cognitive beliefs, religious doctrines constitute a speculative hypothesis of an extremely low order of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-hook/nonetheless-it-still-remains-true-that-as-a-set-of-cognitive-beliefs/) [Sidney Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-hook/) > [For the political leader the religious doctrines and institutions of his people must always remain inviolable; or else has no right to be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-the-political-leader-the-religious-doctrines-and-institutions-of/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Religious doctrines do not and clearly cannot be adopted as the criminal code of a state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/religious-doctrines-do-not-and-clearly-cannot-be-adopted-as-the/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [I was forced to stretch my thinking, to realize that sincere and honest people could believe in very divergent religious doctrines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/i-was-forced-to-stretch-my-thinking-to-realize-that-sincere-and/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Religious doctrines … are all illusions, they do not admit of proof, and no one can be compelled to consider them as true or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/religious-doctrines-are-all-illusions-they-do-not-admit-of-proof-and/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Our knowledge of the historical worth of certain religious doctrines increases our respect for them, but does not invalidate our proposal that they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/our-knowledge-of-the-historical-worth-of-certain-religious-doctrines/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“To the fundamentalist, their evidence in the form of religious doctrines and scriptures from various holy books must remain unchanged. This quashes the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stefanelli/to-the-fundamentalist-their-evidence-in-the-form-of-religious/) [Al Stefanelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stefanelli/) > [Muhammad professed to derive from Heaven, and he has inserted in the Koran, not only a body of religious doctrines, but political maxims, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/muhammad-professed-to-derive-from-heaven-and-he-has-inserted-in-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Since I've become a central banker, I've learned to mumble with great incoherence. If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-i-ve-become-a-central-banker-i-ve-learned-to-mumble-with-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one can cross the boundary into another -- for the simple reason that no one can gain access to himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-one-can-cross-the-boundary-into-another-for-the-simple-reason-that/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it (i.e. the Book of Revelations), and I then considered it merely the ravings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-between-fifty-and-sixty-years-since-i-read-it-i-e-the-book-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Some people are attracted to sickness, to the kind of madness where sparks fly off the head, to the incoherence of despair, masked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-davies/some-people-are-attracted-to-sickness-to-the-kind-of-madness-where/) [Luke Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-davies/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George Santayana > [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; 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