CLH

"Respect for tradition alone makes it, I think, necessary for me to say that someone who doesn’t know about religion or doesn’t take an interest in it is only quasi-literate."

"Scientific and technological advance has not, and cannot, diminish the realm of mystery and tragedy in which it is our lot to dwell."

"Accepting that the world is full of uncertainty and ambiguity does not and should not stop people from being pretty sure about a lot of things."

"Religion does not have the answer, because it has all the answers, the right and the wrong. Religion is less a glossary of terms (justice means this, righteousness that) than a grammar, a framework for moral reasoning. It is a language in which to think—not a guarantor of thinking correctly."

"Life requires of us a fine balancing act between trusting our current beliefs enough to be willing to act on them and yet not being so certain of them that we become unable to modify or abandon them."

"Without the guiding concept of a “Common Good” our social life is governed by the anomie of private interests, the inscrutable demands of “well-being” and the vicissitudes of mere fashion. … There are few things today more fashionable, more suited to our modern conceit, than atheism. … And this chic atheism, I believe, will continue to flourish to the extent that moral disintegration, nihilistic capitalism, anti-aesthetic liberalism and a kind of ubiquitous piss-taking cynicism remain the dominant forces in our common life."

"Man does not live by explanation alone, but by the sense of wonder and mystery. Without it there is neither religion nor morality, neither sacrifice nor creativity."

"It is irrelevant whether Pastafarians sincerely believe in their noodly deity. This shared body of symbols and practices has spawned an esprit de corps, uniting philosophical atheists and agnostics into a moral community, meaning that Pastafarianism may well be on its way to becoming a religion—in both the substantive and the functional sense."

"I think there has to be more to say about religion other than the fact that it makes no sense as an empirical claim. That’s just too obvious to be interesting. I think that we as a society deserve a better form of atheism."

"Evolutionary biologists tend to be atheists, and most would be surprised if the scientific investigation of religion did not end up supporting their point of view. But if a propensity to religious behaviour really is an evolved trait, then they have talked themselves into a position where they cannot benefit from it, much as a sceptic cannot benefit from the placebo effect of homeopathy. Maybe, therefore, it is God who will have the last laugh after all—whether He actually exists or not."