--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every one of the world's \"great\"…" description: "\"Every one of the world's \"great\" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the Koran get almost ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg" --- # Every one of the world's "great" religions utterly… ![“Every one of the world's "great" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the Koran get almost every significant fact about us and our world wrong. Every scientific domain -- from cosmology to psychology to economics -- has superseded and…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg) > “Every one of the world's "great" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the Koran get almost every significant fact about us and our world wrong. Every scientific domain -- from cosmology to psychology to economics -- has superseded and surpassed the wisdom of Scripture. Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The rest is self-deception, set to music.” [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. Religion simplifies the cosmos, but science offers deeper, evidence‑based understanding. **In simple terms:** Religion simplifies; science deepens. Key Takeaway Seek evidence‑based explanations over dogma. Themes religion science truth Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - education - public policy - personal belief Key Concepts epistemology cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance faith and evidence? - What role does meaning play beyond facts? A Different Perspective Science cannot answer all existential questions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Cosmology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmology/) [Cosmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmos/) [Deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Immensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immensity/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Presuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presuming/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-deception/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We do not know what awaits each of us after death, but we know that we will die. Clearly, it must be possible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-do-not-know-what-awaits-each-of-us-after-death-but-we-know-that-we/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [After a study of some forty years and more of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect, none so scientific,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/after-a-study-of-some-forty-years-and-more-of-the-great-religions-of/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [ \[Giving\] is the essence of the great religions of the world - whether you are discussing the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or Christian religion. It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/giving-is-the-essence-of-the-great-religions-of-the-world-whether-you/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [In principle the great religions of the world do not differ as much as they appear to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/in-principle-the-great-religions-of-the-world-do-not-differ-as-much/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [There are a score of great religions in the world, each with scores or hundreds of sects, each with its priestly orders, its complicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/there-are-a-score-of-great-religions-in-the-world-each-with-scores-or/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [After all the great religions have been preached and expounded, man is still confronted with the Great Mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-standing-bear/after-all-the-great-religions-have-been-preached-and-expounded-man-is/) [Luther Standing Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-standing-bear/) > [“The main concern of all great religions has been to fight a certain weariness and heaviness grown to epidemic proportions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-main-concern-of-all-great-religions-has-been-to-fight-a-certain/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Almost every one of the great religions of the world has made special provisions for them, and the woman who has preferred a celibate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-livermore/almost-every-one-of-the-great-religions-of-the-world-has-made-special/) Mary Livermore > [The Rosicrucians teach that all great religions have been given to the people among whom they are found, by Divine Intelligences who designed each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/the-rosicrucians-teach-that-all-great-religions-have-been-given-to/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [“For after all the great religions have been preached and expounded, or have been revealed by brillant scholars, or have been written in fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-lapaire-justus/for-after-all-the-great-religions-have-been-preached-and-expounded-or/) Helene Lapaire Justus > [Aggression and forced redistribution of wealth has nothing to do with the teachings of the world's great religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/aggression-and-forced-redistribution-of-wealth-has-nothing-to-do-with/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I've spent the last 50 years or so steeping myself in the world's religions, and I've done my homework. I've gone to each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/i-ve-spent-the-last-50-years-or-so-steeping-myself-in-the-world-s/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [I don't think it is given to any of us to be impertinent to great religions with impunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/i-don-t-think-it-is-given-to-any-of-us-to-be-impertinent-to-great/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“There are no longer any gods whom we can invoke to help us. The great religions of the world suffer from increasing anemia, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/there-are-no-longer-any-gods-whom-we-can-invoke-to-help-us-the-great/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [The basis of world peace is the teaching which runs through almost all the great religions of the world. Love thy neighbor as thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/the-basis-of-world-peace-is-the-teaching-which-runs-through-almost/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) ## More by Sam Harris > [“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to-loosely-interpret-or-simply/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. 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 Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every one of the world's \"great\" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the Koran get almost every significant fact about us and our world wrong. Every scientific domain -- from cosmology to psychology to economics -- has superseded and surpassed the wisdom of Scripture. Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The rest is self-deception, set to music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every one of the world's \"great\" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books…” — Sam Harris", "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": "Sam Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every one of the world's \"great\"...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/#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 } } ] } ```