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Mockery of religion is one of the most essential things... one of the beginnings of human emancipation is the ability to laugh at authority.

— Christopher Hitchens

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Religion

More quotes by Christopher Hitchens

Intellectuals never sound more foolish than when posing as the last civilised man.

Unacknowledged Legislation: Writers in the Public Sphere (2000)

Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty and wisdom will come to you that way.

A good liar must have a good memory. Kissinger is a stupendous liar with a remarkable memory.

Emancipate yourself from the idea of a celestial dictatorship and you've taken the first step to becoming free.

The reading public isn't born that doesn't think foreigners are either funny or faintly sinister.

For the Sake of Argument: Essays and Minority Reports (1993)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay History of England (1849)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Christopher Hitchens (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.