--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The priest invents and encourages every…" description: "\"The priest invents and encourages every kind of suffering and distress so that man may not have the opportunity to become scientific, which requires a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/robert-sheaffer-57320_authority_the-priest-invents-and-encourages-every_2199637.jpg" --- # The priest invents and encourages every kind of suffering… ![“The priest invents and encourages every kind of suffering and distress so that man may not have the opportunity to become scientific, which requires a considerable degree of free time, health, and an outlook of confident positivism. Thus, the religious authorities work hard to make and keep people…” quote by Robert Sheaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/robert-sheaffer-57320_authority_the-priest-invents-and-encourages-every_2199637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/robert-sheaffer-57320_authority_the-priest-invents-and-encourages-every_2199637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/robert-sheaffer-57320_authority_the-priest-invents-and-encourages-every_2199637.jpg) > “The priest invents and encourages every kind of suffering and distress so that man may not have the opportunity to become scientific, which requires a considerable degree of free time, health, and an outlook of confident positivism. Thus, the religious authorities work hard to make and keep people feeling sinful, unworthy, and unhappy.” [Robert Sheaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sheaffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religious institutions create suffering to keep people occupied, preventing them from pursuing scientific inquiry that needs free time, health, and optimism. **In simple terms:** Religion can distract from science by causing distress. Key Takeaway Seek truth, question imposed guilt. Themes religion science control psychology freedom Mood critical reflective skeptical Type philosophical social commentary critical analysis When to use this quote - personal development - education reform - mental health advocacy - secular activism Key Concepts social control existentialism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does guilt affect your curiosity? - Can faith coexist with scientific inquiry? A Different Perspective Not all religious experiences are oppressive; some inspire moral and scientific progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Distress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distress/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Free time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-time/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Outlook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlook/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Positivism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positivism/) [Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priest/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) ## Related quotes > [“the feeling of distress is the root of benevolence, therefore a benevolent man is ever mindful of those who are suffering and in distress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inazo-nitobe/the-feeling-of-distress-is-the-root-of-benevolence-therefore-a/) [Inazo Nitobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inazo-nitobe/) > [ \[S\]uppose the mind of \[a\] friend of humanity were clouded over with his own grief, extinguishing all sympathetic participation in the fate of others;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/s-uppose-the-mind-of-a-friend-of-humanity-were-clouded-over-with-his/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [It is heartrending to read the entries in many an old family Bible - the records of suffering, distress, and blasted hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/it-is-heartrending-to-read-the-entries-in-many-an-old-family-bible/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [We have all forgotten what we really are. 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