Religion is a disease, but it is a noble disease. Heraclitus
It is the test of a good religion whether you can make a joke about it. G K Chesterton
A man who should act, for one day, on the supposition that all the people about him were influenced by the religion which they professed would find himself ruined by night. Thomas Babington Macaulay
We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. Jonathan Swift
Fanaticism in religion is the alliance of the passions she condemns with the dogmas she professes. Lord Acton
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. Albert Einstein
All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few. Stendhal
There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it. George Bernard Shaw
Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it; anything but live for it. Charles Caleb Colton
Religion is the recognition of all our duties as divine commands. Immanuel Kant
When you see a man with a great deal of religion displayed in his shop window, you may depend upon it, he keeps a very small stock of it within. Charles H Spurgeon
Difference of religion breeds more quarrels than difference of politics. Wendell Phillips
All religions die of one disease – that of being found out. John Morley
There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt. Niccolo Machiavelli
Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. Karl Marx
No power of government ought to be employed in the endeavour to establish any system or article of belief on the subject of religion. Jeremy Bentham
The first revolt is against the supreme tyranny of theology, of the phantom of God. As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth. Mikhail Bakunin
Genius without religion is only a lamp on the outer gate of a palace; it may serve to cast a gleam of light on those that are without, while the inhabitant sits in darkness. Hannah More
True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we profess. Louis Nizer
Religions are the cradles of despotism. Marquis de Sade
Let us not seek to bring religion to others, but let us endeavor to live it ourselves. Paul Tournier
There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham. Anna Sewell
You may go over the world and you will find that every form of religion which has breathed upon this earth has degraded women. There is not one which has not made her subject to man. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair. Abraham J Heschel
I can’t talk religion to a man with bodily hunger in his eyes. George Bernard Shaw
People need religion. It’s a vehicle for a moral tradition. A crucial role. Nothing can take its place. Irving Kristol
It is a fine thing to establish one’s own religion in one’s heart, not to be dependent on tradition and second-hand ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a lesser, but a greater thing. D H Lawrence
Things are coming to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade private life. Lord Melbourne
Every national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God – as if the way to God was not open to every man alike. Thomas Paine
Religion is a collective insanity. Mikhail Bakunin
The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself. Richard F Burton