--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole thing [religion] is so patently…" description: "\"The whole thing [religion] is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg" --- # The whole thing \[religion\] is so patently infantile, so… ![“The whole thing [religion] is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life.” quote by Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg) > “The whole thing \[religion\] is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life.” [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is portrayed as an immature, unrealistic worldview that conflicts with a compassionate human perspective. **In simple terms:** Religion seen as childish and unrealistic. Key Takeaway Question beliefs critically. Themes religion skepticism humanism Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - debates on faith - education - personal growth Key Concepts cognitive development existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - What role does comfort play in belief? - Can rationality and compassion coexist? A Different Perspective Critics argue faith offers comfort despite irrationality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Agnostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Attitude Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude-humanity-3671104/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-painful-5752756/) [Infantile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infantile/) [Infantile Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infantile-foreign-5752759/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Patently Infantile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patently-infantile-5752758/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Patently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-patently-5752757/) [Rise above](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-above/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [View of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view-of-life/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [... motivating people, forcing them to your will, gives you a cynical attitude toward humanity. It degrades everything it touches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/motivating-people-forcing-them-to-your-will-gives-you-a-cynical/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [What psycho-analysis reveals in the transference phenomena of neurotics can also be observed in the lives of some normal people. The impression they give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/what-psycho-analysis-reveals-in-the-transference-phenomena-of/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Concerning the factors of silence, solitude and darkness, we can only say that they are actually elements in the production of the infantile anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/concerning-the-factors-of-silence-solitude-and-darkness-we-can-only/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Indeed, the great Leonardo (da Vinci) remained like a child for the whole of his life in more than one way. It is said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/indeed-the-great-leonardo-da-vinci-remained-like-a-child-for-the/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I have a fairly strict definition of early infantile autism. That is not to say that people who don't meet that classic description don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/i-have-a-fairly-strict-definition-of-early-infantile-autism-that-is/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [For the beloved should not allow me to turn my infantile fantasies into reality: On the contrary, he should help me to go beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/for-the-beloved-should-not-allow-me-to-turn-my-infantile-fantasies/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“There is so much woman in many a girl and too much boy in many a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/there-is-so-much-woman-in-many-a-girl-and-too-much-boy-in-many-a-man/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I think Americans are terrified of feeling anything. I never met a people more infantile in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-think-americans-are-terrified-of-feeling-anything-i-never-met-a/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [A problem with my novels is that they, from the start, have been infantile and incredibly childish. There are childishness, stupidity, lack of wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/a-problem-with-my-novels-is-that-they-from-the-start-have-been/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [Maybe every other American movie shouldn't be based on a comic book. Other countries will think Americans live in an infantile fantasy land where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/maybe-every-other-american-movie-shouldn-t-be-based-on-a-comic-book/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [In politics continental Europe was infantile - horrifying. What America lacked, for all its political stability, was the capacity to enjoy intellectual pleasures as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/in-politics-continental-europe-was-infantile-horrifying-what-america/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“If every day is first day of your life, maybe you are being perpetually infantile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-koontz/if-every-day-is-first-day-of-your-life-maybe-you-are-being/) [Trixie Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trixie-koontz/) > [Naturalism aimed at giving the primitive wishes full play but failed because these wishes are too primitive, too infantile, too inconsistent with themselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-desmond-bernal/naturalism-aimed-at-giving-the-primitive-wishes-full-play-but-failed/) [John Desmond Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-desmond-bernal/) > [The steadily inward look leads us all to death, nations as well as persons, and is equally infantile in them all. Perhaps the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-wilson/the-steadily-inward-look-leads-us-all-to-death-nations-as-well-as/) [Margery Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-wilson/) ## More by Sigmund Freud > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. I will kiss you quite red and feed you till you are plump. And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/woe-to-you-my-princess-when-i-come-i-will-kiss-you-quite-red-and-feed/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Ko postavlja pitanje o smislu zivota,s njegovim libidom nije nesto u redu.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/ko-postavlja-pitanje-o-smislu-zivota-s-njegovim-libidom-nije-nesto-u/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“When it comes to the small matters in life one should think long and hard, but when it comes to the big ones -whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/when-it-comes-to-the-small-matters-in-life-one-should-think-long-and/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [We like to forget that in fact everything in our life is chance, from our genesis out of the encounter of spermatozoon and egg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-like-to-forget-that-in-fact-everything-in-our-life-is-chance-from/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass-delusions of this kind. No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-religions-of-mankind-must-be-classed-among-the-mass-delusions-of/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [It seems to be my fate to discover only the obvious: that children have sexual feelings, which every nurse maid knows; and that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/it-seems-to-be-my-fate-to-discover-only-the-obvious-that-children/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The first requisite of civilization is that of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-first-requisite-of-civilization-is-that-of-justice/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Actually, the substitution of the reality-principle for the pleasure-principle denotes no dethronement of the pleasure-principle, but only a safeguarding of it. A momentary pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/actually-the-substitution-of-the-reality-principle-for-the-pleasure/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/dreams-are-often-most-profound-when-they-seem-the-most-crazy/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/against-the-suffering-which-may-come-upon-one-from-human/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [There is to my mind no doubt that the concept of beautiful had its roots in sexual excitation and that its original meaning was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/there-is-to-my-mind-no-doubt-that-the-concept-of-beautiful-had-its/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The voice of the intellect is soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endless rebuffs, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-voice-of-the-intellect-is-soft-one-but-it-does-not-rest-until-it/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) [Explore all 608 Sigmund Freud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [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/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The whole thing [religion] is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sigmund Freud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently-infantile-so-foreign-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently-infantile-so-foreign-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/sigmund-freud-360_able_the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently_735588.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The whole thing [religion] is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly…” — Sigmund Freud", "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": "Sigmund Freud", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The whole thing [religion] is so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently-infantile-so-foreign-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-whole-thing-religion-is-so-patently-infantile-so-foreign-to/#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 } } ] } ```