--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Certain beliefs place their adherents…" description: "\"“Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of every peaceful means of persuasion, while inspiring them to commit acts of extraordinary vio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/sam-harris-457_adherents_certain-beliefs-place-their-adherents-be_3232569.jpg" --- # Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of… ![“Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of every peaceful means of persuasion, while inspiring them to commit acts of extraordinary violence against others. There is, in fact, no talking to some people. If they cannot be captured, and they often cannot, otherwise tolerant people may…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/sam-harris-457_adherents_certain-beliefs-place-their-adherents-be_3232569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/sam-harris-457_adherents_certain-beliefs-place-their-adherents-be_3232569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/sam-harris-457_adherents_certain-beliefs-place-their-adherents-be_3232569.jpg) > ““Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of every peaceful means of persuasion, while inspiring them to commit acts of extraordinary violence against others. There is, in fact, no talking to some people. If they cannot be captured, and they often cannot, otherwise tolerant people may be justified in killing them in self-defense.”” [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extremist beliefs can render dialogue impossible, justifying lethal self‑defense against those who cannot be peacefully persuaded. **In simple terms:** Some ideologies block peaceful persuasion, leading to justified violence. Key Takeaway Recognize when dialogue fails and assess self‑defense limits. Themes extremism violence ethics self‑defense Mood tense reflective Type ethical political When to use this quote - terrorism - radicalization - law enforcement - civil war - human rights Key Concepts moral philosophy political theory conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - When is lethal force morally permissible? - Can non‑violent alternatives ever succeed? A Different Perspective Violence may be disproportionate and undermine long‑term peace. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adherents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adherents/) [Adherents Reach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adherents-reach-6121156/) [Certain Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-beliefs-306245/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Tolerant People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerant-people-344817/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [“The link between belief and behavior raises the stakes considerably. 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Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/) > [“Ali, Son of the Father of the Seeker Ali said: 'None may arrive at the Truth until he is able to think that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/ali-son-of-the-father-of-the-seeker-ali-said-none-may-arrive-at-the/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ And maybe she had certain beliefs that if you love somebody, \[you're\] gonna like them too. And that isn't necessarily true. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/and-maybe-she-had-certain-beliefs-that-if-you-love-somebody-you-re/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Capitalism does not require us to hold a particular set of cognitive beliefs; it only requires that we act as if certain beliefs (about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/capitalism-does-not-require-us-to-hold-a-particular-set-of-cognitive/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [You can describe Christianity and you can also describe liberalism. Christianity has certain beliefs, tenets, doctrines. 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Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Your principal concern appears to be that the Creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked. This prudery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/your-principal-concern-appears-to-be-that-the-creator-of-the-universe/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“As manuals for contemplative understanding, the Bible and the Koran are worse than useless. Whatever wisdom can be found in their pages is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/as-manuals-for-contemplative-understanding-the-bible-and-the-koran/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If your golf instructor were to insist that you shave your head, sleep no more than four hours each night, renounce sex, and subsist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/if-your-golf-instructor-were-to-insist-that-you-shave-your-head-sleep/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The fact that one can lose one's sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one's consciousness is immaterial or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-one-can-lose-one-s-sense-of-self-in-an-ocean-of/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-the-reality-of-consciousness-appears-irreducible-only/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Whether or not one likes Huntington's formulation, one thing is clear: the evil that has finally reached our shores is not merely the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/whether-or-not-one-likes-huntington-s-formulation-one-thing-is-clear/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-problem-is-that-religion-tends-to-give-people-bad-reasons-to-be/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Muslim moderates, wherever they are, must be given every tool necessary to win a war of ideas with their co-religionists. Otherwise, we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/muslim-moderates-wherever-they-are-must-be-given-every-tool-necessary/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The idea that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-idea-that-any-one-of-our-religions-represents-the-infallible-word/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“What could possibly cause billions of human beings to reconsider their religious beliefs? And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/what-could-possibly-cause-billions-of-human-beings-to-reconsider/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) [Explore all 543 Sam Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More Adherents quotes > [I judge a religion as being good or bad based on whether its adherents become better people as a result of practicing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mullally/i-judge-a-religion-as-being-good-or-bad-based-on-whether-its/) [Joe Mullally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mullally/) > [The presumption that any current opinion is not wholly false, gains in strength according to the number of its adherents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-presumption-that-any-current-opinion-is-not-wholly-false-gains-in/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [One of the most important things liberals don't understand about conservatism, obscured by too much lazy talk about conservatism's various 'wings,' is that its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/one-of-the-most-important-things-liberals-don-t-understand-about/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [A religion is not just a set of texts but the living beliefs and practices of its adherents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/a-religion-is-not-just-a-set-of-texts-but-the-living-beliefs-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [The more fantastic an ideology or theology, the more fanatic its adherents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-more-fantastic-an-ideology-or-theology-the-more-fanatic-its/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All mass movements generate in their adherents a readiness to die and a proclivity for united action; all of them, irrespective of the doctrine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/all-mass-movements-generate-in-their-adherents-a-readiness-to-die-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There is no belief, however foolish, that will not gather its faithful adherents who will defend it to the death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-is-no-belief-however-foolish-that-will-not-gather-its-faithful/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We should all oppose - as Darwin did - views manifestly in conflict with the evidence, such as creationism... But we shouldn't set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/we-should-all-oppose-as-darwin-did-views-manifestly-in-conflict-with/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > ['Know your enemy, name your enemy' is a 9/11 message that has gone unheeded. Our immigration and homeland security policies refuse to profile jihadi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/know-your-enemy-name-your-enemy-is-a-9-11-message-that-has-gone/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [I don't subscribe to organised religion. I've travelled enough to see that adherents of organised religion often attack adherents of other religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-don-t-subscribe-to-organised-religion-i-ve-travelled-enough-to-see/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) [Browse all 11 Adherents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adherents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Certain beliefs place their adherents beyond the reach of every peaceful means of persuasion, while inspiring them to commit acts of extraordinary violence against others. There is, in fact, no talking to some people. 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