--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America's state religion, is patriotism…" description: "\"America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that reason is morally worse than murder or rape.\" — Wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg" --- # America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon… ![“America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that reason is morally worse than murder or rape.” quote by William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg) > “America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that reason is morally worse than murder or rape.” [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriotism is treated as a religion in America, leading some to deem rational thought morally inferior to violence. **In simple terms:** Patriotism can suppress reason. Key Takeaway Question blind loyalty and its moral impact. Themes politics patriotism morality reason violence social critique Mood critical reflective Type political ethical When to use this quote - civic education - public discourse - media analysis Key Concepts philosophy ethics nationalism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can patriotism coexist with critical thinking? - What values should guide national identity? A Different Perspective Patriotism can also inspire positive civic engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Citizenry Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenry-reason-2055510/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-phenomenon-2055509/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-patriotism-2055508/) [State Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-religion-1179315/) ## Related quotes > [America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that 'treason' is morally worse than murder or rape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a-phenomenon-which-has/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [In every society in human history, including the United States, those in power seek to imbue themselves with the attributes of religion and patriotism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-j-mitchell/in-every-society-in-human-history-including-the-united-states-those/) [George J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-j-mitchell/) > [“There are so many things to exploit man, but religion and patriotism are at the top of the list.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarif-naaz/there-are-so-many-things-to-exploit-man-but-religion-and-patriotism/) [Tarif Naaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarif-naaz/) > [My religion and my patriotism derived from my religion, embrace all life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-religion-and-my-patriotism-derived-from-my-religion-embrace-all/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Atheists blame religion when priests do wrong. Anything can be misused, whether it is nuclear power or a matchstick. So, how can I blame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/atheists-blame-religion-when-priests-do-wrong-anything-can-be-misused/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [The net effect of the distortion of the First Amendment is to require that wherever the state is, religion must be excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-swindall/the-net-effect-of-the-distortion-of-the-first-amendment-is-to-require/) [Pat Swindall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-swindall/) > [The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/the-founders-proscribed-the-establishment-of-a-state-religion-but/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [The First Amendment...does not say that in every respect there shall be a separation of Church and State…Otherwise the state and religion would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-first-amendment-does-not-say-that-in-every-respect-there-shall-be/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Religion cannot sink lower than when somehow it is raised to a state religion ... It becomes then an avowed mistress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/religion-cannot-sink-lower-than-when-somehow-it-is-raised-to-a-state/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [Fanaticism is not a state of religion but a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/fanaticism-is-not-a-state-of-religion-but-a-state-of-mind/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“The phrase ‘separation of church and state,’ which appears in no founding document (only in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson), means that America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-phrase-separation-of-church-and-state-which-appears-in-no/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“My dear, religion is a null area in the law. A church can do anything any organization can do—and has no restrictions. It pays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-dear-religion-is-a-null-area-in-the-law-a-church-can-do-anything/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [ It \[the State\] has taken on a vast mass of new duties and responsibilities; it has spread out its powers until they penetrate to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/it-the-state-has-taken-on-a-vast-mass-of-new-duties-and/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Who are we, this government or this country, to redefine the term marriage that has meant one man and one woman across cultures, across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-loughton/who-are-we-this-government-or-this-country-to-redefine-the-term/) [Tim Loughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-loughton/) > [The majority of Utah's citizens do not merely approve the death penalty, they demand it - the state religion demands it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-alexander/the-majority-of-utah-s-citizens-do-not-merely-approve-the-death/) [Shana Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-alexander/) ## More by William Blum > [The Soviet Union and something called communism per se had not been the object of Washington's global attacks. There had never been an International…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/the-soviet-union-and-something-called-communism-per-se-had-not-been/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [Terror is the poor man's war, war is the rich man's terror. Ultimately, all wars will end either in annihilation or at the negotiating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/terror-is-the-poor-man-s-war-war-is-the-rich-man-s-terror-ultimately/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that 'treason' is morally worse than murder or rape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a-phenomenon-which-has/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [The "trickle-down" theory: the principle that the poor, who must subsist on table scraps dropped by the rich, can best be served by giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/the-trickle-down-theory-the-principle-that-the-poor-who-must-subsist/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [A terrorist is someone who has a bomb, but doesn't have an air force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/a-terrorist-is-someone-who-has-a-bomb-but-doesn-t-have-an-air-force/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [From 1945 to 2003, the United States attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 populist-nationalist movements fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/from-1945-to-2003-the-united-states-attempted-to-overthrow-more-than/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [What our leaders and pundits never let slip is that the terrorists-whatever else they might be-might also be rational human beings ; which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/what-our-leaders-and-pundits-never-let-slip-is-that-the-terrorists/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [Do you remember the classic example of chutzpah? It's the young man who kills his parents and then asks the judge for mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/do-you-remember-the-classic-example-of-chutzpah-it-s-the-young-man/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [If love is blind, patriotism has lost all five senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/if-love-is-blind-patriotism-has-lost-all-five-senses/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [Propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictatorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/propaganda-is-to-a-democracy-what-violence-is-to-a-dictatorship/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [The de facto censorship which leaves so many Americans functionally illiterate about the history of US foreign affairs may be all the more effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/the-de-facto-censorship-which-leaves-so-many-americans-functionally/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [“The Empire would love to rip Ukraine from Moscow’s bosom, evict the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and establish a US military and/or NATO presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/the-empire-would-love-to-rip-ukraine-from-moscow-s-bosom-evict-the/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [Why don't church leaders forbid Catholics from joining the military with the same fervor they tell Catholics to stay away from abortion clinics?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/why-don-t-church-leaders-forbid-catholics-from-joining-the-military/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [The leaders of the empire, the imperial mafia-George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Cheney, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, et al.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/the-leaders-of-the-empire-the-imperial-mafia-george-w-bush-donald/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) > [“to the American power elite one of the longest lasting and most essential foreign policy goals has been preventing the rise of any society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/to-the-american-power-elite-one-of-the-longest-lasting-and-most/) [William Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) [Explore all 24 William Blum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/) ## More Patriotism quotes > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I am not a nationalist in any way, and I hate flag waving, and I don't think much good has come out of nationalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/i-am-not-a-nationalist-in-any-way-and-i-hate-flag-waving-and-i-don-t/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Patriotism is a fierce love for the nation’s soul - its land, its people, its core, coupled with a burning contempt for a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/njau-kihia/patriotism-is-a-fierce-love-for-the-nation-s-soul-its-land-its-people/) [Njau Kihia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/njau-kihia/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Cricket, politics, and cinema is what a majority in our country are most passionate about. They have the power to divide the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-deverakonda/cricket-politics-and-cinema-is-what-a-majority-in-our-country-are/) [Vijay Deverakonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-deverakonda/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I will do everything I can always for my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-massa/i-will-do-everything-i-can-always-for-my-country/) [Felipe Massa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-massa/) > [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) [Browse all 5,882 Patriotism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that reason is morally worse than murder or rape.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Blum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a-phenomenon-which-has-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Patriotism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a-phenomenon-which-has-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/william-blum-24558_patriotism_america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a_2614473.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“America's state religion, is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many of the citizenry that reason…” — William Blum", "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": "William Blum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "America's state religion, is patriotism, a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a-phenomenon-which-has-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blum/america-s-state-religion-is-patriotism-a-phenomenon-which-has-2/#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 } } ] } ```