--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It goes with the passionate intensity and…" description: "\"It goes with the passionate intensity and deep conviction of the truth of a religious belief, and of course of the importance of the superstitious obse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/peter-medawar-9996_atheism_it-goes-with-the-passionate-intensity-an_1868177.jpg" --- # It goes with the passionate intensity and deep conviction… ![“It goes with the passionate intensity and deep conviction of the truth of a religious belief, and of course of the importance of the superstitious observances that go with it, that we should want others to share it - and the only certain way to cause a religious belief to be held by everyone is to…” quote by Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/peter-medawar-9996_atheism_it-goes-with-the-passionate-intensity-an_1868177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/peter-medawar-9996_atheism_it-goes-with-the-passionate-intensity-an_1868177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98a/peter-medawar-9996_atheism_it-goes-with-the-passionate-intensity-an_1868177.jpg) > “It goes with the passionate intensity and deep conviction of the truth of a religious belief, and of course of the importance of the superstitious observances that go with it, that we should want others to share it - and the only certain way to cause a religious belief to be held by everyone is to liquidate nonbelievers. The price in blood and tears that mankind generally has had to pay for the comfort and spiritual refreshment that religion has brought to a few has been too great to justify our entrusting moral accountancy to religious belief.” [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religious belief often demands conformity, leading to violence against dissenters, and the suffering caused outweighs any spiritual benefits. **In simple terms:** Religion can cause harm when forced on others. Key Takeaway Question questioning imposed faith. Themes religion violence ethics Mood critical somber Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political policy - education reform - interfaith dialogue - human rights advocacy Key Concepts conformity moral accountability Questions to Reflect On - Is faith ever truly voluntary? - How can societies protect both belief and freedom? A Different Perspective Violence can also be justified as defense of cultural identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Entrusting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrusting/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensity/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Passionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passionate/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-belief/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Superstitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitious/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Those who wish to cause religious conflict are small in number but often manage to dominate the headline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/those-who-wish-to-cause-religious-conflict-are-small-in-number-but/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Remember that a wish held fervently turns into belief, and a belief held diligently becomes reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/remember-that-a-wish-held-fervently-turns-into-belief-and-a-belief/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) > [As long as the mind clings to belief, it is held in a prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/as-long-as-the-mind-clings-to-belief-it-is-held-in-a-prison/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I believe that the most essential element of our defense of freedom is our insistence on speaking out for the cause of religious liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-believe-that-the-most-essential-element-of-our-defense-of-freedom/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-book-of-genesis-tells-us-that-god-created-man-and-woman/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Smart people instinctively understand the dangers of entrusting our future to self-serving leaders who use our institutions, whether in the corporate or social sectors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/smart-people-instinctively-understand-the-dangers-of-entrusting-our/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [I think that people are usually more comfortable working with and entrusting money to those who seem most like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-drake/i-think-that-people-are-usually-more-comfortable-working-with-and/) Diane Drake > [I have met thousands and thousands of pro-choice men and women. I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-met-thousands-and-thousands-of-pro-choice-men-and-women-i-have/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Entrusting one's life is not the same as opening up one's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/entrusting-one-s-life-is-not-the-same-as-opening-up-one-s-soul/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“What's so praiseworthy about entrusting your sense of what's right to someone else?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wataru-watari/what-s-so-praiseworthy-about-entrusting-your-sense-of-what-s-right-to/) [Wataru Watari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wataru-watari/) > [How can you have confidence in a woman who will not risk entrusting her whole life to you, day and night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/how-can-you-have-confidence-in-a-woman-who-will-not-risk-entrusting/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [A lot of what we do is built on trust, because basically, you go out there with a live mic on live television, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enzo-amore/a-lot-of-what-we-do-is-built-on-trust-because-basically-you-go-out/) [Enzo Amore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enzo-amore/) > [People get into the habit of entrusting the things they desire to wishful thinking, and subjecting things they don't desire to exhaustive thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/people-get-into-the-habit-of-entrusting-the-things-they-desire-to/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [For those who fancy that government's projects are uniquely important, or for those who imagine that holding government office makes someone unusually saintly or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-j-boudreaux/for-those-who-fancy-that-government-s-projects-are-uniquely-important/) [Donald J. Boudreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-j-boudreaux/) > [The first job of a leader-at work or at home-is to inspire trust. It's to bring out the best in people by entrusting them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-job-of-a-leader-at-work-or-at-home-is-to-inspire-trust-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Peter Medawar > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/innocent-unbiased-observation-is-a-myth/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/an-experiment-not-worth-doing-is-not-worth-doing-well/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Science is the art of the solvable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/science-is-the-art-of-the-solvable/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [ \[A certain class of explanations in science are\] analgesics that dull the ache of incomprehension without removing the cause. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/a-certain-class-of-explanations-in-science-are-analgesics-that-dull/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Twice in my life I have spent two weary and scientifically profitless years seeking evidence to corroborate dearly loved hypotheses that later proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/twice-in-my-life-i-have-spent-two-weary-and-scientifically-profitless/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If politics is the art of the possible, research is surely the art of the soluble. Both are immensely practical-minded affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/if-politics-is-the-art-of-the-possible-research-is-surely-the-art-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Ask a scientist what he conceives the scientific method to be and he will adopt an expression that is at once solemn and shifty-eyed:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/ask-a-scientist-what-he-conceives-the-scientific-method-to-be-and-he/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-human-mind-treats-a-new-idea-the-way-the-body-treats-a-strange/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the notion of intelligence was quite meaningless, so I tried calling him unintelligent. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/i-once-spoke-to-a-human-geneticist-who-declared-that-the-notion-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [I reckon that for all the use it has been to science about four-fifths of my time has been wasted, and I believe this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/i-reckon-that-for-all-the-use-it-has-been-to-science-about-four/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [We shall not read it for its sociological insights, which are non-existent, nor as science fiction, because it has a general air of implausibility;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/we-shall-not-read-it-for-its-sociological-insights-which-are-non/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The Phenomenon of Man stands square in the tradition of Naturphilosophie, a philosophical indoor pastime of German origin which does not seem even by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-phenomenon-of-man-stands-square-in-the-tradition-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended to make him better, and C) gets better, then no power of reasoning known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treatment-intended-to-make-him/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [We cannot point to a single definitive solution of any one of the problems that confront us — political, economic, social or moral, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/we-cannot-point-to-a-single-definitive-solution-of-any-one-of-the/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) [Explore all 68 Peter Medawar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. 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Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? 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