--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While religious faith is the one species…" description: "\"“While religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered from crit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg" --- # While religious faith is the one species of human… ![“While religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered from criticism in every corner of our culture.” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg) > ““While religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered from criticism in every corner of our culture.”” [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. Faith is presented as a unique form of ignorance immune to correction, yet it remains unchallenged across culture. **In simple terms:** Faith is seen as unchallengeable ignorance. Key Takeaway Question and critique faith. Themes religion ignorance culture Mood critical analytical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - debates on belief - education curricula - media analysis - interfaith dialogues Key Concepts epistemology skepticism social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does society protect unexamined beliefs? - Can faith be reformed without losing meaning? A Different Perspective Faith can be deeply personal, making criticism feel hostile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-faith/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is denial - at once full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religion-is-nothing-more-than-bad-concepts-held-in-place-of-good-ones/) [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/) > [“The concessions we have made to religious faith - to the idea that belief can be sanctified by something other than evidence - have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-concessions-we-have-made-to-religious-faith-to-the-idea-that/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Richard Dawkins regards faith as an evil to be eliminated; he takes all religious faith to be blind faith. (Dawkins says) ‘Scientific belief is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/richard-dawkins-regards-faith-as-an-evil-to-be-eliminated-he-takes/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“Once you let them establish their ideology in you, they will drive you crazy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/once-you-let-them-establish-their-ideology-in-you-they-will-drive-you/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [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/) > [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/) ## 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 Faith quotes > [“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/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/) Matt Morris (1 > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) [Browse all 37,796 Faith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“While religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered from criticism in every corner of our culture.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species-of-human-ignorance-that-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faith" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species-of-human-ignorance-that-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/sam-harris-457_faith_while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species_1047196.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of…” — 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": "“While religious faith is the one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species-of-human-ignorance-that-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/while-religious-faith-is-the-one-species-of-human-ignorance-that-will/#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 } } ] } ```