Believes Quote by Mark Haddon
““One person looks around and see a universe created by a God who watches over its long unfurling, marking the fall of sparrows and listening to the prayers of his finest creation. Another person believes that life, in all its baroque complexity, is a chemical aberration that will briefly decorate the surface of a ball of rock spinning somewhere among a billion galaxies. And the two of them could talk for hours and find no greater difference between each other, for neither set of beliefs makes us kinder or wiser. William the Bastard forcing Harold to swear over the bones of Saint Jerome, the Church of Rome rent asunder by the King's Great Matter, the twin towers folding into smoke. Religion fueling the turns and reverses of human history, or so it seems, but twist them all to catch a different light and those same passionate beliefs seem no more than banners thrown up to hide the usual engines of greed and fear. And in our single lives? Those smaller turns and reverses? Is it religion which trammels and frees, which gives or withholds hope? Or are these, too, those old base motives dressed up for a Sunday morning? Are they reasons or excuses?””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (adapted), 2020
Belief systems—religious or scientific—do not inherently make people kinder or wiser; they often mask deeper motives like greed and fear.
In simple terms: Beliefs don't guarantee virtue.
Question assumptions about faith and reason.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- debates
- political discourse
- personal reflection
- education
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you think belief can inspire moral action?
- How do you separate belief from underlying motives?
The view may ignore genuine ethical teachings within religions and science.