Ben Franklin's Quotes on Religion

   "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."
— Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's, 1758

   "I cannot conceive otherwise than that He, the Infinite Father, expects or requires no worship or praise from us, but that He is even infinitely above it."
— Benjamin Franklin, Articles Of Belief and Acts of Religion, Nov.20, 1728

   "I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real good works ... not holy day keeping, sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity."
— Benjamin Franklin , Works Vol.VII, p.75

   "If we look back into history for the character of the present sects of Christianity, we shall find few that have not in turns been persecutors and complainers of persecution. The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in Pagans, but practiced it on one another. The first Protestants of the Church of England blamed persecution on the Roman church, but preactied it on the Puritans. They found it wrong in Bishops, but fell into the practice both here (England) and in New England
— Benjamin Franklin, Poor_Richard, 1758

   "When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."
— Benjamin Franklin, 2000 Years of Disbelief by James A. Haught

   "Religion I found to be without any tendency to inspire, promote, or confirm morality, serves principally to divide us and make us unfriendly to one another."
— Benjamin Franklin

 

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