--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religious unreason should acquire and…" description: "\"“Religious unreason should acquire and even greater stigma in our discourse, given that it remains among the principal causes of armed conflict in our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg" --- # Religious unreason should acquire and even greater stigma… ![“Religious unreason should acquire and even greater stigma in our discourse, given that it remains among the principal causes of armed conflict in our world. Before you can get to the end of this paragraph, another person will probably die because of what someone else believes about God. Perhaps it…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg) > ““Religious unreason should acquire and even greater stigma in our discourse, given that it remains among the principal causes of armed conflict in our world. Before you can get to the end of this paragraph, another person will probably die because of what someone else believes about God. Perhaps it is time we demanded that our fellow human beings had better reasons for maintaining their religious differences, if such reasons even exist”” [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. Religious irrationality fuels conflict; we should demand rational justification for faith differences. **In simple terms:** Religion can cause violence; need better reasons for belief. Key Takeaway Demand rational basis for faith. Themes religion conflict reason ethics Mood critical concerned Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debates - interfaith dialogue - education curricula Key Concepts secularism humanism rationalism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies encourage rational discourse on belief? - What alternatives exist to religious justification? A Different Perspective People may cling to faith despite evidence, limiting change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-differences/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Incompatible religious doctrines have balkanized our world into separate moral communities, and these divisions have become a continuous source of bloodshed. Indeed, religion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/incompatible-religious-doctrines-have-balkanized-our-world-into/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We are a people of many races, many faiths, creeds, and religions. I do not think that the men who made the Constitution forbade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/we-are-a-people-of-many-races-many-faiths-creeds-and-religions-i-do/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The practice of truth and nonviolence melted religious differences, and we learnt to see beauty in each religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-practice-of-truth-and-nonviolence-melted-religious-differences/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ \[John Adams and Tomas Jefferson\] shared experience in 1775 - 1776 in bringing about the separation from Britain and their service in Europe cemented… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-s-wood/john-adams-and-tomas-jefferson-shared-experience-in-1775-1776-in/) [Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-s-wood/) > [“Religious differences were often a barrier to close ties between Jews and Christians. The word religion comes from a Latin word meaning “to tie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/religious-differences-were-often-a-barrier-to-close-ties-between-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“The process of reconciliation implies that people who want to engage in interfaith cooperation should be prepared to reflect critically on their own religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-smock/the-process-of-reconciliation-implies-that-people-who-want-to-engage/) [David R. Smock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-smock/) > [“Differences between Catholic and Protestant countries did not incite rivalries between European states, or cause the growing sense of national identity and, sometimes, isolationism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-macdonald/differences-between-catholic-and-protestant-countries-did-not-incite/) Fiona MacDonald > [“the level of tolerance for religious differences is much greater than the politically correct crowd would have us believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-level-of-tolerance-for-religious-differences-is-much-greater-than/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“As interference of two beams of light can strengthen or weaken each other, then so does religious differences can be truly productive or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/as-interference-of-two-beams-of-light-can-strengthen-or-weaken-each/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Throughout history, religious differences have divided men and women from their neighbors and have served as justification for some of humankind's bloodiest conflicts. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-hassan-bin-talal/throughout-history-religious-differences-have-divided-men-and-women/) [Prince Hassan bin Talal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-hassan-bin-talal/) > [There were many reasons we broke up. There was a religious difference: I'm a Catholic, and she's the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ferrara/there-were-many-reasons-we-broke-up-there-was-a-religious-difference/) [Adam Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ferrara/) > [“Two centuries ago, a New Faith came to this land. Many found it an alien creed. Others merged it in with the old ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tremayne/two-centuries-ago-a-new-faith-came-to-this-land-many-found-it-an/) [Peter Tremayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tremayne/) > [“The trouble between Hindus and Muslims, which has continued to this day, is not generated by the people's inability to get along, but by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-gandhi/the-trouble-between-hindus-and-muslims-which-has-continued-to-this/) [Arun Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-gandhi/) > [“We have religious differences." Marrok allowed. "I want him to rot in hell and he disagrees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-gannon/we-have-religious-differences-marrok-allowed-i-want-him-to-rot-in/) [Cassandra Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-gannon/) > [I believe inter -racial marriages show the world that the color of a person's skin is of no consequence. The more such marriages there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-jepson-jr/i-believe-inter-racial-marriages-show-the-world-that-the-color-of-a/) [Robert S. Jepson, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-jepson-jr/) ## 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 Religion quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-religion-has-mandated-killing-others-as-a-requirement-for-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) [Browse all 58,737 Religion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Religious unreason should acquire and even greater stigma in our discourse, given that it remains among the principal causes of armed conflict in our world. Before you can get to the end of this paragraph, another person will probably die because of what someone else believes about God. Perhaps it is time we demanded that our fellow human beings had better reasons for maintaining their religious differences, if such reasons even exist”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-even-greater-stigma-in-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Religion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-even-greater-stigma-in-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/sam-harris-457_religion_religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-ev_525120.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Religious unreason should acquire and even greater stigma in our discourse, given that it remains among the…” — 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": "“Religious unreason should acquire and even...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-even-greater-stigma-in-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-unreason-should-acquire-and-even-greater-stigma-in-our/#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 } } ] } ```