Character Quote by John Stuart Mill
““His aversion to religion, in the sense usually attached to the term, was of the same kind with that of Lucretius: he regarded it with the feelings due not to a mere mental delusion, but to a great moral evil. He looked upon it as the greatest enemy of morality: first, by setting up factitious excellencies - belief in creeds, devotional feelings, and ceremonies, not connected with the good of human kind - and causing these to be accepted as substitutes for genuine virtue: but above all, by radically vitiating the standard of morals; making it consist in doing the will of a being, on whom it lavishes indeed all the phrases of adulation, but whom in sober truth it depicts as eminently hateful.””
About This Quote
Source Book: On Liberty, John Stuart Mill, 1859
Mill sees religion as a moral danger, replacing true virtue with false doctrines and worship of a hateful being.
In simple terms: Religion can replace real virtue with false beliefs.
Key Takeaway
Question and reject harmful religious doctrines.
Themes
morality
religion
philosophy
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
ethical
When to use this quote
- personal ethics
- public policy
- education
- interfaith dialogue
Key Concepts
ethical critique
moral evil
false virtues
Questions to Reflect On
- How does one distinguish harmful doctrine from beneficial practice?
- Can moral virtue exist without religion?
A Different Perspective
Religion can also provide community and comfort for many.
![“If the Irish once find out that there are any circumstances in which they can get free government grants, we shall have a system of mendicancy [begging] such as the world never knew”. After a million had starved to death he stated “The great evil with which we have to contend is not the physical…” quote by Charles Trevelyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/83d/charles-trevelyan-72237_begging_if-the-irish-once-find-out-that-there-ar_780001.jpg)
![“The notion that evil is non-rational is a more significant claim for Eagleton than at first appears, because he is (in this book [ On Evil ] as in others of his recent 'late period' prolific burst) anxious to rewrite theology: God (whom he elsewhere tells us is nonexistent, but this is no barrier…” quote by A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6a5/a-c-grayling-9398_atheism_the-notion-that-evil-is-non-rational-is_599668.jpg)
![“[For people] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c53/john-stuart-mill-477_doubt_for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opi_63929.jpg)
