“It is easy to forget, since the Catholic Church is now the only large American religious denomination whose ecclesiastical hierarchy continues to oppose birth control, that only a century ago the leaders of nearly all churches were united in their resistance to any public discussion of the subject.” ReligionEasyChurchReligiousForgetUnitedLeaderSubjectsCenturyBirthCatholicResistanceDiscussionHierarchyCatholic ChurchBirth ControlDenominations Book:Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism Source: Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
“That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a testament not to the compatibility of science and religion but to the flexibility, in both the physical and metaphysical senses, of the human brain.” HumansBeliefNaturalBrainSensesManageTestamentMetaphysicalScience And ReligionFlexibilityAccommodateHuman BrainBelief SystemsCompatibility Book:Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism Source: Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
“This mindless tolerance, which places observable scientific facts, subject to proof, on the same level as unprovable supernatural fantasy, has played a major role in the resurgence of both anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism.” FactsLevelsRolesFantasySubjectsMajorsProofToleranceMindlessIntellectualismRationalismScientific FactsResurgence Author:Susan Jacoby
“We do want our fellow citizens to respect our deeply held conviction that the absence of an afterlife lends a greater, not a lesser, moral importance to our actions on earth.” WantActionEarthMoralGreaterCitizensImportanceFellowsConvictionAbsenceAfterlifeOur Actions Author:Susan Jacoby
“If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight face always adding a qualifying paragraph noting that mathematicians however say that two plus two still equals four.” PeopleIfsBelieveStillsTwoEnoughStoriesFacesFiveFourMediaInvolvedReportsPlusMathematicianParagraphQualifyingStraight Face Author:Susan Jacoby
“The government should not be in the business of funneling money for social services through any faith-based organization” ShouldGovernmentSocialOrganizationSocial ServiceFaith Based Author:Susan Jacoby
“Too many Americans have twisted the sensible right to pursue happiness into the delusion that we are entitled to a guarantee of happiness. If we don't get exactly what we want, we assume someone must be violating our rights. We're no longer willing to write off some of life's disappointments to simple bad luck.” IfsWantWritingAmericaSimpleRightsWillingLuckAssumingDisappointmentPursueGuaranteesDelusionSensibleEntitledTwistedBad Luck Author:Susan Jacoby
“There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation and discrimination on a reluctant nation's social agenda. Would black churches have been able to take the lead in the struggle had they been dependent on funds doled out for 'faith-based initiatives' . . . ?” Has BeensStatesGovernmentAbleNationsSocialBlackChurchPowerfulStruggleArgumentIndependentDiscriminationAfrican AmericanDependentAgendasFundInitiativeSegregationReluctantMixingLead InFaith BasedReligion And GovernmentBlack ChurchRacial Segregation Author:Susan Jacoby
