Skip to content

Carl Sagan on Religion

1934–1996 United States

← All quotes by Carl Sagan

5 quotes

The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion and politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no place in the endeavor of science.

Cosmos (1980)

The enterprise of knowledge is consistent surely with science; it should be with religion, and it is essential for the welfare of the human species.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God (2006)

I have...a terrible need...shall I say the word?...of religion. Then I go out at night and paint the stars.

Cosmos (1980)

Many religions lay out a set of precepts... and claim that these instructions were given by a god or gods.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God (2006)

Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries.

Cosmos (1980)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Carl Sagan (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.