Stephen Crane on religion

Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter⁠—bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
“Because it is bitter,
“And because it is my heart.”

The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.

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