American founding fathers Quote by James Madison

Union of religious sentiments begets a surprising confidence, and ecclesiastical establishments tend to great ignorance and corruption; all of which facilitate the execution of…

— James Madison

The ecclesiastical establishments of Europe which serve to support tyrannical governments are not the Christian religion but abuses and corruptions of it.

— Noah Webster

Probably in all history there is no instance of a society in which ecclesiastical power was dominant which was not at once stagnant, corrupt…

— George Agnew Reid

“What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the…

— James Madison

The ecclesiastical writers, who, in the heat of religious faction, are apt to despise the profane virtues of sincerity and moderation.

— Edward Gibbon

The clergy, with a few honorable exceptions, have in all modern countries been the avowed enemies of the diffusion of knowledge, the danger of…

— Henry Thomas Buckle

“... [E]xperience witnesseth that ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of Religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries…

— James Madison

Nearly all the evils in the Church have arisen from bishops desiring power more than light. They want authority, not outlook.

— John Ruskin

In the scattered settlements of this Diocese, schools and Churches are of necessity for many years few in number, and multitudes of both sexes…

— John Strachan

Whatever flaws or personal failings afflict them, it remains the case that the overwhelming majority of priests and politicians are honourable and honest -…

— Keith O'Brien

Beware of bad Catholics.

— Saint Augustine

“Excessive wealth, enormous power, and luxury, Chrysostom charges, are destroying the integrity of the churches. Clerics, infected by the disease of “lust for authority,”…

— Elaine Pagels