--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion has not civilized man, man has…" description: "\"Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.\" — Robert Green Ingersoll" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png" --- # Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion. ![“Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.” quote by Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png) > “Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.” [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is shaped by humanity, not the other way around; humans refine religious ideas. **In simple terms:** Humans shape religion. Key Takeaway Recognize human influence on belief systems. Themes religion humanity civilization progress Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - cultural analysis - ethical debates - historical study Key Concepts sociology philosophy of religion Questions to Reflect On - How does human progress affect faith? - Can religion evolve without losing core values? A Different Perspective Religious doctrines may resist change despite human influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Civilized Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized-man/) [Civilized Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized-religion-1265450/) [Man Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-civilized-620597/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-civilized-1627068/) ## Related quotes > [Historically the customs and traditions of day-to-day life in Africa have been dismissed by Western cultural anthropologists as primitive, chaotic, pagan activities that should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malidoma-patrice-some/historically-the-customs-and-traditions-of-day-to-day-life-in-africa/) [Malidoma Patrice Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malidoma-patrice-some/) > [Is not the history of real civilization the slow and gradual emancipation of the intellect, of the judgment, from the mastery of passion? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/is-not-the-history-of-real-civilization-the-slow-and-gradual/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [It seems to me impossible for a civilized man to love or worship, or respect the God of the Old Testament. A really civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-seems-to-me-impossible-for-a-civilized-man-to-love-or-worship-or-2/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“Ultimately, beyond the primordial, brutish labels of man-made institutions, true practical religion of the civilized society must bring oneness. This very process of unification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/ultimately-beyond-the-primordial-brutish-labels-of-man-made/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“You allege some considerations in favor of a Deity from the universality of a belief in his existence. The superstitions of the savage, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-allege-some-considerations-in-favor-of-a-deity-from-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Man and other civilized animals are the only creatures that ever become dirty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/man-and-other-civilized-animals-are-the-only-creatures-that-ever/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [No man, however civilized, can listen for very long to African drumming, or Indian chanting, or Welsh hymn singing, and retain intact his critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/no-man-however-civilized-can-listen-for-very-long-to-african-drumming/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [No doubt it was necessary to civilize man in relation to man. That work is already advanced and is making progress every day. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/no-doubt-it-was-necessary-to-civilize-man-in-relation-to-man-that/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Is it possible that nobody has ever known that there never has been a completely civilized man, and won't be for another thousand years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/is-it-possible-that-nobody-has-ever-known-that-there-never-has-been-a/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [I have found the missing link between the higher ape and civilized man; it is we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/i-have-found-the-missing-link-between-the-higher-ape-and-civilized/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I expect Woman will be the last thing civilized by Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meredith/i-expect-woman-will-be-the-last-thing-civilized-by-man/) [George Meredith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meredith/) > [One of the greatest myths of all time is that so-called civilized man is no longer an animal, and for that reason can strive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/one-of-the-greatest-myths-of-all-time-is-that-so-called-civilized-man/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [The mark of a truly civilized man is confidence in the strength and security derived from the inquiring mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-mark-of-a-truly-civilized-man-is-confidence-in-the-strength-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Goverment is actually the worst failure of civilized man. There has never been a really good one, and even those that are the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/goverment-is-actually-the-worst-failure-of-civilized-man-there-has/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More by Robert Green Ingersoll > [Our hope of immortality does not come from any religions, but nearly all religions come from that hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/our-hope-of-immortality-does-not-come-from-any-religions-but-nearly/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [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/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I read the other day an account of a meeting between John Knox and John Calvin. Imagine a dialogue between a pestilence and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-read-the-other-day-an-account-of-a-meeting-between-john-knox-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Shakespeare has done far more for the world than the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/shakespeare-has-done-far-more-for-the-world-than-the-bible/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Every man who expresses an honest thought is a soldier in the army of intellectual liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/every-man-who-expresses-an-honest-thought-is-a-soldier-in-the-army-of/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Liberty is the condition of progress. Without Liberty, there remains only barbarism. Without Liberty, there can be no civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/liberty-is-the-condition-of-progress-without-liberty-there-remains/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [It has been said that a man of genius should select his ancestors with great care - and yet there does not seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-been-said-that-a-man-of-genius-should-select-his-ancestors/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [In spite of my surroundings, of my education, I had no love for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/in-spite-of-my-surroundings-of-my-education-i-had-no-love-for-god/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The combined wisdom and genius of all mankind cannot possibly conceive of an argument against liberty of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-combined-wisdom-and-genius-of-all-mankind-cannot-possibly/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [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/) > [I do not believe in loving enemies; I have pretty hard work to love my friends. Neither do I believe in revenge. No man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-do-not-believe-in-loving-enemies-i-have-pretty-hard-work-to-love-my/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [What is it that distinguishes you and me from the lower animals - from the beasts? More, I say, than anything else, human sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/what-is-it-that-distinguishes-you-and-me-from-the-lower-animals-from/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The literature of many lands is rich with the tributes that gratitude, admiration and love have paid to the great and honored dead. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-literature-of-many-lands-is-rich-with-the-tributes-that-gratitude/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Explore all 640 Robert Green Ingersoll quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## More Civilized quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) [Joseph Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-anderson/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [War is not civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/war-is-not-civilized/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The military mind is indeed a menace. Old-fashioned futurity that sees only men fighting and dying in smoke and fire; hears nothing more civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-casey/the-military-mind-is-indeed-a-menace-old-fashioned-futurity-that-sees/) [Sean O'Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-casey/) > [As long as there are prisons, police, armies, navies; we are not civilized. When the Earth joins together and uses the Earth intelligently, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/as-long-as-there-are-prisons-police-armies-navies-we-are-not/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/savage-peoples-are-ruled-by-passion-civilized-peoples-by-the-mind/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) [Browse all 1,043 Civilized quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Green Ingersoll" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-civilized-religion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilized" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-civilized-religion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/robert-green-ingersoll-361_civilized_religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-c_615322.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.” — Robert Green Ingersoll", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Green Ingersoll", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Religion has not civilized man, man...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-civilized-religion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/religion-has-not-civilized-man-man-has-civilized-religion/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```