--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion is nothing more than bad…" description: "\"“Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is denial - at once full of hope and full of fear - of the vast..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/sam-harris-457_denial_religion-is-nothing-more-than-bad-concep_372482.jpg" --- # Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place… ![“Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is denial - at once full of hope and full of fear - of the vastitude of human ignorance.” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/sam-harris-457_denial_religion-is-nothing-more-than-bad-concep_372482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/sam-harris-457_denial_religion-is-nothing-more-than-bad-concep_372482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/sam-harris-457_denial_religion-is-nothing-more-than-bad-concep_372482.jpg) > ““Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is denial - at once full of hope and full of fear - of the vastitude of human ignorance.”” [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 replaces good ideas with bad ones, offering hope and fear while masking human ignorance. **In simple terms:** Religion often substitutes false concepts for better ones, mixing hope and fear. Key Takeaway Question beliefs critically. Themes faith ignorance hope fear humanity Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal belief review - public policy debates - educational curricula - interfaith dialogues Key Concepts epistemology psychology social control Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to religion can fulfill hope? - How does fear sustain belief systems? A Different Perspective Good ideas can coexist with religion; not all faith is harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Denial Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial-hope-3395886/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Human Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-ignorance-292807/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-bad-342590/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Life is pain, denial is hope, death is freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-pain-denial-is-hope-death-is-freedom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-faith-is-the-one-species-of-human-ignorance-that-will-not/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/theology-is-now-little-more-than-a-branch-of-human-ignorance/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“While religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species-of-human-ignorance-that-will/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [ The greatest achievements in the science of this \[twentieth\] century are themselves the sources of more puzzlement than human beings have ever experienced. Indeed,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-greatest-achievements-in-the-science-of-this-twentieth-century/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Let us consider how great a commodity of doctrine exists in books; how easily, how secretly, how safely they expose the nakedness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/let-us-consider-how-great-a-commodity-of-doctrine-exists-in-books-how/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [To inquisitive minds like yours and mine the reflection that the quantity of human knowledge bears no proportion to the quantity of human ignorance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/to-inquisitive-minds-like-yours-and-mine-the-reflection-that-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Most books are about aspects of human knowledge - Few people write books about human ignorance, despite the fact that there would be much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piero-scaruffi/most-books-are-about-aspects-of-human-knowledge-few-people-write/) [Piero Scaruffi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piero-scaruffi/) > [human honesty has its varieties; so does human ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/human-honesty-has-its-varieties-so-does-human-ignorance/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) > [Of all the wastes of human ignorance perhaps the most extravagant and costly to human growth has been the waste of the distinctive powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-garlin-spencer/of-all-the-wastes-of-human-ignorance-perhaps-the-most-extravagant-and/) [Anna Garlin Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-garlin-spencer/) > [The reason that history so often repeats is not only human nature, but also human ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/the-reason-that-history-so-often-repeats-is-not-only-human-nature-but/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [The only thing worse than human ignorance is human pride in that ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/the-only-thing-worse-than-human-ignorance-is-human-pride-in-that/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“Why do we care about Lizzie Borden, or Judge Crater, or Lee Harvey Oswald, or the Little Big Horn? Mystery! Because of all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/why-do-we-care-about-lizzie-borden-or-judge-crater-or-lee-harvey/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The greatest of all the accomplishments of 20th century science has been the discovery of human ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-greatest-of-all-the-accomplishments-of-20th-century-science-has/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“dialogue led participants not to certainty but to a shocking realization of the profundity of human ignorance. However carefully, logically, and rationally Socrates and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/dialogue-led-participants-not-to-certainty-but-to-a-shocking/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## 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 Denial quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [What you try to bury just ends up burying you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/what-you-try-to-bury-just-ends-up-burying-you/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [Its up to any government to decide how to react to the denial of basic human rights anywhere in the world, including Egypt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/its-up-to-any-government-to-decide-how-to-react-to-the-denial-of/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Living in denial only makes finding the truth that much harder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-f/living-in-denial-only-makes-finding-the-truth-that-much-harder/) [Jules F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-f/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) > [Denial leads to closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/denial-leads-to-closure/) [Aruho Marwin Machiaveli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [What’s looming in the shadows of our ignorance and denial is a critique of civilization itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/what-s-looming-in-the-shadows-of-our-ignorance-and-denial-is-a/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“You can hold on to the smallest doubt and take comfort in it, stay in denial and go on with your carefree life, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/you-can-hold-on-to-the-smallest-doubt-and-take-comfort-in-it-stay-in/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) [Browse all 1,463 Denial quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. 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