--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... on the whole 'blasphemy' has been a…" description: "\"... on the whole 'blasphemy' has been a force for good in human history. It is part of the process by which millions of people have come to reject theo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/katha-pollitt-16599_blasphemy_on-the-whole-blasphemy-has-been-a-force_3218452.png" --- # ... on the whole 'blasphemy' has been a force for good in… ![“... on the whole 'blasphemy' has been a force for good in human history. It is part of the process by which millions of people have come to reject theocracy and think for themselves.” quote by Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/katha-pollitt-16599_blasphemy_on-the-whole-blasphemy-has-been-a-force_3218452.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/katha-pollitt-16599_blasphemy_on-the-whole-blasphemy-has-been-a-force_3218452.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d71/katha-pollitt-16599_blasphemy_on-the-whole-blasphemy-has-been-a-force_3218452.png) > “... on the whole 'blasphemy' has been a force for good in human history. It is part of the process by which millions of people have come to reject theocracy and think for themselves.” [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning religious authority can drive progress and independent thought, despite controversy. **In simple terms:** Challenging faith can push society forward. Key Takeaway Question authority to grow. Themes freedom critical thinking progress Mood thoughtful provocative Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political debates - educational curricula - activism Key Concepts secularism social change Questions to Reflect On - Is all blasphemy harmful? - When does critique become disrespect? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blasphemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blasphemy/) [Blasphemy Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blasphemy-force-6040848/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Reject Theocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reject-theocracy-6040849/) [Rejects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejects/) [Theocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theocracy/) [Theocracy Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theocracy-think-1402946/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [I did not suggest that Iran is a democracy; just the opposite. I talked about it being a repressive theocracy. What I think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-did-not-suggest-that-iran-is-a-democracy-just-the-opposite-i-talked/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Many religions now come before us with ingratiating smirks and outspread hands, like an unctuous merchant in a bazaar. They offer consolation and solidarity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-religions-now-come-before-us-with-ingratiating-smirks-and-2/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The very concept of an Iranian university is an oxymoron. There are no free and open places of learning in that repressive theocracy. Dissenters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/the-very-concept-of-an-iranian-university-is-an-oxymoron-there-are-no/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [The whole story of human history is: The blasphemy of today is the commonplace of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/the-whole-story-of-human-history-is-the-blasphemy-of-today-is-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [“When the Washington Post telephoned me at home on Valentine's Day 1989 to ask my opinion about the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwah , I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/when-the-washington-post-telephoned-me-at-home-on-valentine-s-day/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“As he defended the book one evening in the early 1980s at the Carnegie Endowment in New York, I knew that some of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-he-defended-the-book-one-evening-in-the-early-1980s-at-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Our country, though it is not a theocracy, you will not understand democracy if you don't understand the biblical foundations and traditions and foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/our-country-though-it-is-not-a-theocracy-you-will-not-understand/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [“You are the only thing standing between them and the theocracy they want.   Diatribe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-lugeons/you-are-the-only-thing-standing-between-them-and-the-theocracy-they/) [Noah Lugeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-lugeons/) > [“All governments are ordained by God, but none compare to government by God, theocracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-bowen/all-governments-are-ordained-by-god-but-none-compare-to-government-by/) [William R. Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-bowen/) > [“It can certainly be misleading to take the attributes of a movement, or the anxieties and contradictions of a moment, and to personalize or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-can-certainly-be-misleading-to-take-the-attributes-of-a-movement/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [If you're a Christian and you're running for president and you want to make this into a theocracy, I'm not going to support you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/if-you-re-a-christian-and-you-re-running-for-president-and-you-want/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Calvin founded a little theocracy, modeled after the Old Testament, and succeeded in erecting the most detestable government that ever existed, except the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/calvin-founded-a-little-theocracy-modeled-after-the-old-testament-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“There is no greater threat to liberty, peace and progress than theocracy.  Right now the Muslims just happen to be leading the race when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-lugeons/there-is-no-greater-threat-to-liberty-peace-and-progress-than/) [Noah Lugeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-lugeons/) > [“The hijab-related deaths and death sentences in Iran show that breaking the attire laws is more dangerous adventure than breaking the nudity laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-n-prasher/the-hijab-related-deaths-and-death-sentences-in-iran-show-that/) [R. N. Prasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-n-prasher/) ## More by Katha Pollitt > [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-should-say-that-it-was-only-for-me-that-marxism-seemed-over-surely/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [One of the very important ideas of feminism for me has always been women helping and supporting each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/one-of-the-very-important-ideas-of-feminism-for-me-has-always-been/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [funny how ready people are to believe that counseling, which even when voluntary takes years to modify garden-variety neuroses, can work wonders in months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/funny-how-ready-people-are-to-believe-that-counseling-which-even-when/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [Misogyny runs deeper than religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/misogyny-runs-deeper-than-religion/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [Why must the woman apologize for not having a baby just because she happened to get pregnant? It's as if we think motherhood is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/why-must-the-woman-apologize-for-not-having-a-baby-just-because-she/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [“Maybe I’m not cut out for monogamy,” G. had said to me early on. “Maybe I should just live in a room by myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/maybe-i-m-not-cut-out-for-monogamy-g-had-said-to-me-early-on-maybe-i/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [For many people, feminism is one of those words of which, as St. Augustine said about time, they know the meaning as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/for-many-people-feminism-is-one-of-those-words-of-which-as-st/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [When it comes to ideas - and religions are, among other things, ideas - there is no right not to be offended. ... In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/when-it-comes-to-ideas-and-religions-are-among-other-things-ideas/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [In a better world, science teachers would teach creationism along with evolution as an exercise in critical thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/in-a-better-world-science-teachers-would-teach-creationism-along-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision and move on with their lives. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/we-need-to-say-that-women-have-sex-have-abortions-are-at-peace-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [“I’m a writer; I can float for hours on a word like “amethyst” or “broom” or the way so many words sound like what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-m-a-writer-i-can-float-for-hours-on-a-word-like-amethyst-or-broom/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [A feminist is a person who answers 'yes' to the question 'Are women human?' Feminism is not about whether women are better than, worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/a-feminist-is-a-person-who-answers-yes-to-the-question-are-women/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [If you run into trouble doing what's expected, people sympathize with you, while if you try something else and flop everyone says, You see?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-you-run-into-trouble-doing-what-s-expected-people-sympathize-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [ When you consider that God could have commanded anything he wanted--anything!--the Ten \[Commandments\] have got to rank as one of the great missed moral… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/when-you-consider-that-god-could-have-commanded-anything-he-wanted/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [While woman sheds the Blood of Life each moon at menstruation, man can only shed the blood of death through warfare and killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/while-woman-sheds-the-blood-of-life-each-moon-at-menstruation-man-can/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) [Explore all 39 Katha Pollitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## More Blasphemy quotes > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“They're power-hungry, the mundane said of the magical people. They're immoral, people said, and they're scary. Playing with the dark arts could plunge me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-wicker/they-re-power-hungry-the-mundane-said-of-the-magical-people-they-re/) [Christine Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-wicker/) > [Political correctness is a major defect of the western ethos. Some Western countries have even passed blasphemy laws that would put you in legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/political-correctness-is-a-major-defect-of-the-western-ethos-some/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Now a doll found naked in a ditch eyes rusted open, is blasphemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-digges/now-a-doll-found-naked-in-a-ditch-eyes-rusted-open-is-blasphemy/) [Deborah Digges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-digges/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Now 'South Park' - they are interested in blasphemy. They're interested in creating offence for its own sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baddiel/now-south-park-they-are-interested-in-blasphemy-they-re-interested-in/) [David Baddiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baddiel/) > [We cannot assume the injustice of any actions which only create offense, and especially as regards religion and morals. He who utters or does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/we-cannot-assume-the-injustice-of-any-actions-which-only-create/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [You keep accusing me of blasphemy all of the time, but I cannot be convicted of a victimless crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/you-keep-accusing-me-of-blasphemy-all-of-the-time-but-i-cannot-be/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [They say moses split the red sea, I split a blunt and roll a fat one when I'm deadly. blasphemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2pac/they-say-moses-split-the-red-sea-i-split-a-blunt-and-roll-a-fat-one/) [2pac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2pac/) > [“...The Presidential election has given me less anxiety than I myself could have imagined. The next administration will be a troublesome one, to whomsoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-presidential-election-has-given-me-less-anxiety-than-i-myself/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [That in the captains but a choleric word Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-in-the-captains-but-a-choleric-word-which-in-the-soldier-is-flat/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I want blasphemy, murder, rape, revolution, anything, bad or good, but strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-blasphemy-murder-rape-revolution-anything-bad-or-good-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 260 Blasphemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blasphemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... on the whole 'blasphemy' has been a force for good in human history. 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