--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My opinion is that there would never have…" description: "\"My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest. The artificial structures they have built on the purest of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/thomas-jefferson-43_artificial_my-opinion-is-that-there-would-never-hav_2015068.jpg" --- # My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel… ![“My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest. The artificial structures they have built on the purest of all moral systems, for the purpose of deriving from it pence and power, revolts those who think for themselves, and who read in that system only…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/thomas-jefferson-43_artificial_my-opinion-is-that-there-would-never-hav_2015068.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/thomas-jefferson-43_artificial_my-opinion-is-that-there-would-never-hav_2015068.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/thomas-jefferson-43_artificial_my-opinion-is-that-there-would-never-hav_2015068.jpg) > “My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest. The artificial structures they have built on the purest of all moral systems, for the purpose of deriving from it pence and power, revolts those who think for themselves, and who read in that system only what is really there.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques religious authority that manipulates moral systems for power, stifling independent thought. **In simple terms:** Religion can be used to control and limit thinking. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek personal moral reasoning. Themes religion authority individualism morality Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - education - political discourse - personal belief formation - social reform Key Concepts power dynamics critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - Do you see any positive roles of organized religion? - How can you balance skepticism with respect? A Different Perspective Religious institutions can also provide community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Infidel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infidel/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priest/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I have ever judged of the religion of others by their lives... But this does not satisfy the priesthood. They must have a positive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-ever-judged-of-the-religion-of-others-by-their-lives-but-this/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/history-i-believe-furnishes-no-example-of-a-priest-ridden-people-4/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/where-the-preamble-declares-that-coercion-is-a-departure-from-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-day-will-come-when-the-mystical-generation-of-jesus-by-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it's most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/he-has-waged-cruel-war-against-human-nature-itself-violating-it-s/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-every-country-and-every-age-the-priest-has-been-hostile-to-liberty/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-every-country-and-in-every-age-the-priest-has-been-hostile-to-3/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/history-i-believe-furnishes-no-example-of-a-priest-ridden-people-3/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-every-country-and-in-every-age-the-priest-has-been-hostile-to-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The gloomy theology of the orthodox--the Calvinists--I do not, I cannot believe. Many of the notions--nay, most of the notions--which orthodox people have of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-gloomy-theology-of-the-orthodox-the-calvinists-i-do-not-i-cannot/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [I have no expertise of other religious traditions so I'm not going to opine on them, but in Islam the more you know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haroon-moghul/i-have-no-expertise-of-other-religious-traditions-so-i-m-not-going-to/) [Haroon Moghul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haroon-moghul/) > [The science of the church is neglected for the study of geometry, and they lose sight of Heaven while they are employed in measuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-science-of-the-church-is-neglected-for-the-study-of-geometry-and/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“It was a black and hooded head; and hanging there in the midst of so intense a calm, it seemed the Sphynx’s in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/it-was-a-black-and-hooded-head-and-hanging-there-in-the-midst-of-so/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [ I could be joking and smiling \[with infidels\] and then cutting their throats in the next second. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarik-shah/i-could-be-joking-and-smiling-with-infidels-and-then-cutting-their/) Tarik Shah > [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/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [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/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... 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