--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Christians have been the most intolerant…" description: "\"Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png" --- # Christians have been the most intolerant of all men. ![“Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png) > “Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Christians historically exhibit the greatest intolerance among humanity. **In simple terms:** Christians are often intolerant. Key Takeaway Challenge intolerance. Themes religion intolerance history human rights Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - religious discourse - historical analysis - ethical debate Key Concepts Christian doctrine social criticism Questions to Reflect On - What factors drive religious intolerance? - How can interfaith dialogue improve tolerance? A Different Perspective Generalization may overlook diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-atheist/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians/) [Intolerant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intolerant/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [There being no god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/there-being-no-god/) ## Related quotes > [Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/of-all-religions-the-christian-should-of-course-inspire-the-most/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [All the biblical miracles will at last disappear with the progress of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/all-the-biblical-miracles-will-at-last-disappear-with-the-progress-of/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [For good people to do evil things, it takes religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/for-good-people-to-do-evil-things-it-takes-religion/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-happiness-of-credulity-is-a-cheap-and-dangerous-quality/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Man created God in his own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/man-created-god-in-his-own-image/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-have-never-seen-the-slightest-scientific-proof-of-the-religious-2/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Of all religions, Christianity is without a doubt the one that should inspire tolerance most, although, up to now, the Christians have been the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/of-all-religions-christianity-is-without-a-doubt-the-one-that-should-2/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [To talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. To say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-talk-of-immaterial-existences-is-to-talk-of-nothings-to-say-that-2/) [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/) > [Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/congress-shall-make-no-law-respecting-an-establishment-of-religion-or-3/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [They felt that science would be corrosive to religious belief and they were worried about it. Damn it, I think they were right. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/they-felt-that-science-would-be-corrosive-to-religious-belief-and/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [A person isn't considered insane if there are a number of people who believe the same way. Insanity isn't supposed to be a communicable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/a-person-isn-t-considered-insane-if-there-are-a-number-of-people-who/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [It is not as in the Bible, that God created man in his own image. But, on the contrary, man created God in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/it-is-not-as-in-the-bible-that-god-created-man-in-his-own-image-but/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [The characters and events depicted in the damn bible are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-characters-and-events-depicted-in-the-damn-bible-are-fictitious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Agnostic quotes > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [I'm actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-m-actually-for-the-most-part-a-complete-agnostic-politically/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Even when I was saying I was Agnostic and trying to figure out my thoughts, I felt God was allowing me to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfre-woodard/even-when-i-was-saying-i-was-agnostic-and-trying-to-figure-out-my/) [Alfre Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfre-woodard/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“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/) > [If a humanist or an atheist or an agnostic says, "We'll bake you a pie," we can go right into the kitchen and bake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-a-humanist-or-an-atheist-or-an-agnostic-says-we-ll-bake-you-a-pie/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All Gaza's temples are torn down and burned and the city is cleansed of every belief but the Christian faith. The most stubborn opponents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macmullen/all-gaza-s-temples-are-torn-down-and-burned-and-the-city-is-cleansed/) [Ramsay MacMullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macmullen/) > [I'm still agnostic. But in the words of Elton Richards, I'm now a reverant agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-agnostic-but-in-the-words-of-elton-richards-i-m-now-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) [Browse all 492 Agnostic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant-of-all-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agnostic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant-of-all-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/voltaire-173_agnostic_christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant_2025795.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Christians have been the most intolerant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant-of-all-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/christians-have-been-the-most-intolerant-of-all-men/#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 } } ] } ```