Christopher Hitchens Quotes

I don't think it matters if there is a god or not. I've met people who believe in God that are good and that are bad. And I've met people who don't believe in God that are good and that are bad. So, just be good. I'm good. Not cos I think I'll go to heaven but because when I do something bad, I feel bad. And when I do something good, I feel good.

The only way to show a true respect for God is to act morally while ignoring God’s existence.

We don’t need any sort of religious orientation to lead a life that is ethical, compassionate & kind.

One would like to believe that people who think of themselves as devout Christians would also behave in a manner that is in according with Christian ethics. But pastorally and existentially, I know that this is not the case, and never has been.

Behaving morally because of a hope of reward or a fear of punishment is not morality. Morality is not bribery or threats. Religion is bribery and threats. Humans have morality. We don't need religion.

Even though I don't personally believe in the Lord, I try to behave as though He was watching.

Most religions do not make men better, only warier.

Men's moral principles are weak enough without their being made subordinate to selfishness; and their selfishness is quite active enough, without any such effort as Christianity makes to constitute it the mainspring of all their conduct.

Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs, and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly, show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves.

I don't believe in religion, for I don't see that your religious people are any better than the rest.

For good people to do evil things, it takes religion.

I was brought up to believe that human beings are good, which is why it shocks me to the core when I see human beings behaving badly.

All wrong conduct is based on wrong believing

Without religion, also there is a way, it could be this way, through education, through scientific findings, then you get conviction. Not necessarily really love other, but for their own interest they are showing love, compassion to other like that.

No one knows what he is doing so long as he is acting rightly; but of what is wrong one is always conscious.

Let us with Caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.

A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; 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.

My belief is that the various religious traditions have great potential to increase compassion, the sense of caring for one another, and the spirit of reconciliation. However, I believe that a human being, without religious faith, can be a very good person - sincere, a good heart, having a sense of concern for others - without belief in a particular religious faith.

Religion either makes men wise and virtuous, or it makes them set up false pretenses to both.

Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.

What people believe impacts on what they do. And it's not as if religion is universally bad. Of course it's responsible for many peoples doing good actions.

All religion may be centered around a generally good idea, however, this has not stopped its adherents from acting like bastards.

Happiness is inseparably connected with decent, clean behavior.

The honest Man takes Pains, and then enjoys Pleasures; the knave takes Pleasure, and then suffers Pains.

Does history warrant the conclusion that religion is necessary to morality - that a natural ethic is too weak to withstand the savagery that lurks under civilization and emerges in our dreams, crimes and wars? ... There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion.