Reinhold Niebuhr on religion

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.

All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.

Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.

The Bible is not my book, and Christianity is not my religion. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma.

Abraham Lincoln1809–1865

• Anti-Religion
• Christianity

A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.

Albert Einstein1879–1955Religion and Science (1930)

• Anti-Religion
• Morality

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

Albert Einstein1879–1955Science and Religion (1941)

• Science