When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), (attributed)
My religion consists of a humble1 admiration2 of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail3 and feeble mind.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Science without religion is lame4, religion without science is blind.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), "Science, Philosophy and Religion: a Symposium5", 1941
I won't take my religion from any man who never works except with his mouth.
Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)
I am determined6 that my children shall be brought up in their father's religion, if they can find out what it is.
Charles Lamb (1775 - 1834)
It is a fine thing to establish one's own religion in one's heart, not to be dependent on tradition and second-hand7 ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a lesser8, but a greater thing.
D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930)
Rational arguments don't usually work on religious people. Otherwise, there wouldn't be religious people.
Doris Egan, House M.D., The Right Stuff, 2007
Clergymen have much the same in their breeches as other men.
Elizabeth Aston, The Second Mrs. Darcy, 2007
The opposite of the religious fanatic10 is not the fanatical atheist11 but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)
Everyone ought to worship God according to his own inclinations12, and not to be constrained13 by force.
Flavius Josephus (37 AD - 100 AD), Life
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.
George Burns (1896 - 1996)
For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction.
Ian McKellen, Interview on the Today Show, May 2006
A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes.
James Feibleman
Everybody likes to go their own way--to choose their own time and manner of devotion.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Mansfield Park
It will, I believe, be everywhere found, that as the clergy9 are, or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Mansfield Park
The home of a clergyman is constantly judged by its parishioners. If it is too large and richly decorated, it is the subject of jealousy14. If it is too small and humble, it is the subject of scorn. If it is too clean and orderly, it is considered a museum where charity is untouched and kept in a box. If it is slovenly15, it is the subject of disgust.
Laura Moncur (1969 - ), The Secret Heart of Charlotte Lucas, 2014
Such evil deeds could religion prompt.
Lucretius (96 BC - 55 BC), De Rerum Natura
I would no more quarrel with a man because of his religion than I would because of his art.
Mary Baker16 Eddy17, "Harvest," 1906
The true meaning of religion is thus not simply morality, but morality touched by emotion.
Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888), 'Literature and Dogma,' preface to 1883 edition, last words
Those who seek consolation18 in existing churches often pay for their peace of mind with a tacit agreement to ignore a great deal of what is known about the way the world works.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology19 of Optimal20 Experience, 1990
The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Never confuse the faith with the supposedly faithful.
Randy K. Milholland, Something Positive Comic, 10-19-06
The only time anyone's admitted they were a Christian21 before was when they were busy telling me why they're better than me.
Randy K. Milholland, Something Positive Comic, 10-19-06
The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.
Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 - 1890)
To believe in God or in a guiding force because someone tells you to is the height of stupidity. We are given senses to receive our information within. With our own eyes we see, and with our own skin we feel. With our intelligence, it is intended that we understand. But each person must puzzle it out for himself or herself.
Sophy Burnham
Whatever God's dream about man may be, it seems certain it cannot come true unless man cooperates.
Stella Terrill Mann
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
Steven Weinberg (1933 - ), quoted in The New York Times, April 20, 1999
Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
