--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A delusion held by one person is a mental…" description: "\"A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by a few is a cult, held by many is a religion.\" — Robert Todd Carroll" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg" --- # A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by… ![“A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by a few is a cult, held by many is a religion.” quote by Robert Todd Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg) > “A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by a few is a cult, held by many is a religion.” [Robert Todd Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-todd-carroll/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Distinguishes between personal delusion, cults, and religions based on the number of adherents. **In simple terms:** Delusion scales from personal to societal. Key Takeaway Question the validity of widely held beliefs. Themes beliefs cult religion Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - politics - spirituality - social movements Key Concepts social influence groupthink Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess belief validity? - When does a belief become harmful? A Different Perspective Numbers don’t determine truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/any-man-who-afflicts-the-human-race-with-ideas-must-be-prepared-to/) [H. L. 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Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [“twenty-three years of RFRAs to produce anarchy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/twenty-three-years-of-rfras-to-produce-anarchy/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 795 Anarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by a few is a cult, held by many is a religion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Todd Carroll" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-todd-carroll/a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-mental-illness-held-by-a-few-is-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anarchy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-todd-carroll/a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-mental-illness-held-by-a-few-is-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/robert-todd-carroll-49104_anarchy_a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-menta_2180912.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by a few is a cult, held by many is a religion.” — Robert Todd Carroll", "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 Todd Carroll", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-todd-carroll/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A delusion held by one person...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-todd-carroll/a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-mental-illness-held-by-a-few-is-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-todd-carroll/a-delusion-held-by-one-person-is-a-mental-illness-held-by-a-few-is-a/#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 } } ] } ```