--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not least, the asylum idea reflected the…" description: "\"“Not least, the asylum idea reflected the long-term cultural shift from religion to scientific secularism. In traditional Christendom, it was the disti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/roy-porter-167193_age-of-reason_not-least-the-asylum-idea-reflected-the_1530669.jpg" --- # Not least, the asylum idea reflected the long-term… ![“Not least, the asylum idea reflected the long-term cultural shift from religion to scientific secularism. In traditional Christendom, it was the distinction between believers and heretics, saints and sinners, which had been crucial—that between the sane and the crazy had counted for little. This…” quote by Roy Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/roy-porter-167193_age-of-reason_not-least-the-asylum-idea-reflected-the_1530669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/roy-porter-167193_age-of-reason_not-least-the-asylum-idea-reflected-the_1530669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/roy-porter-167193_age-of-reason_not-least-the-asylum-idea-reflected-the_1530669.jpg) > ““Not least, the asylum idea reflected the long-term cultural shift from religion to scientific secularism. In traditional Christendom, it was the distinction between believers and heretics, saints and sinners, which had been crucial—that between the sane and the crazy had counted for little. This changed, and the great divide, since the ‘age of reason’, became that between the rational and the rest, demarcated and enforced at bottom by the asylum walls. The keys of St Peter had been replaced by the keys of psychiatry.”” [Roy Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-porter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The rise of secularism shifted authority from religious to scientific institutions, redefining sanity and the role of asylums. **In simple terms:** Secularism moved power to science, redefining normalcy. Key Takeaway Recognize changing authority structures. Themes history secularism science authority mental health Mood analytical thoughtful Type analysis historical When to use this quote - academic study - policy analysis - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy sociology history Questions to Reflect On - How did asylum roles evolve with science? - What defines sanity today? A Different Perspective Secularism isn’t uniform; cultural contexts vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age of reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-of-reason/) [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Asylum Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum-idea-5677468/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scientific Secularism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-secularism-5677470/) [Secularism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularism/) [Secularism Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularism-traditional-5677469/) [St peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/st-peter/) ## Related quotes > [You load 16 tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-travis/you-load-16-tons-and-what-do-you-get-another-day-older-and-deeper-in/) [Merle Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-travis/) > [“James Brown went to the pearly gates and met St. Peter who took him to a room where Jerry Garcia was playing and Jimi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/james-brown-went-to-the-pearly-gates-and-met-st-peter-who-took-him-to/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [ \[Pope\] Francis communicates the pastoral embrace of the Church, the breadth and inclusiveness of Catholicism symbolized by the Bernini colonnade around St. Peter's Square,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/pope-francis-communicates-the-pastoral-embrace-of-the-church-the/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [Medieval theologians used to dispute how the angels in the heaven spent their time, when not balancing on needle points and singing anthems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/medieval-theologians-used-to-dispute-how-the-angels-in-the-heaven/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Now, I have to tell you, this reminds me of a story. 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It is well known how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-blech/buonarroti-was-later-given-the-job-of-designing-the-huge-dome-of-the/) [Benjamin Blech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-blech/) > [St. Peter scold me saying son, where have you been? And he saw me with you and asked why are you with that person?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/st-peter-scold-me-saying-son-where-have-you-been-and-he-saw-me-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was then that Boniface issued the most scandalous papal bull of the Middle Ages – the Unam Sanctam of 1302: “We state, declare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/it-was-then-that-boniface-issued-the-most-scandalous-papal-bull-of/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [“Let the grass die. I let almost all of my indoor plants die from neglect while I was writing the book. There are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/let-the-grass-die-i-let-almost-all-of-my-indoor-plants-die-from/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/christians-are-to-be-taught-that-the-pope-would-and-should-wish-to/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Archbishop Milingo is a good Bishop and his contention that there are satanists in Rome is completely correct. Anybody who is acquainted with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachi-martin/archbishop-milingo-is-a-good-bishop-and-his-contention-that-there-are/) [Malachi Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachi-martin/) > [The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/the-church-of-st-peter-at-berlin-notwithstanding-the-total-difference/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [“Of erections how few are domed like St. Peter's! of creatures, how few vast as the whale!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/of-erections-how-few-are-domed-like-st-peter-s-of-creatures-how-few/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## More Age of reason quotes > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. 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