Early on I saw the repression and idolatry of Stalinism and when it cracked I was open to religion again.

For some years I deserted religion in favour of Marxism. The republic of goodness seemed more attainable than the Kingdom of God.

The Christian use of religion as a personal love affair both shocked me and attracted me.

Religion is never the problem it's the people who use it to gain power.

I broke with my religion in college.

For us to think we can enjoy understand and practice the Christian religion with just Matthew to Revelation is foolishness.

Religion and political expediency go beautifully hand in hand.

Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world you must make that attempt. That's morality that's religion. That's art. That's life.

We live in a great country. It's time again to get religion about it.

I did not want to reject religion as nonsense because life seemed to have no ultimate purpose without it and most of the good people I knew were Christians.

The United States is not a nation based upon race creed or religion - we are a nation based upon our loyalty and allegiance to our country and her principles.

Anyone with sincere religious beliefs cannot say that all religions are true. That is so illogical it is pathetic. All religion cannot be true because some of them are so diametrically opposed to each other.

I am not going to condemn anybody. That's where religion gets a bad name when people get holier than thou. We are all human. If my children make a mistake I want them to know it is all right and they should try harder next time.

My political ideas and things like that even my religion I try to keep close to me because it's a personal thing and I don't shove it down people's throats. I don't condemn any artist that wants to do that like the Baldwins. That's their choice. But in my world I'm just an entertainer.

I am an atheist and if an atheist and a pope think the same things there must be something true. There must be some human truth that is beyond religion.

Religion has become so many different things. Religion is an economic thing for some people. Religion is a gun.

For no art and no religion is possible until we make allowances until we manage to keep quiet the enfant terrible of logic that plays havoc with the other faculties.

Another important historical factor is the fact that this already very simple religion was further simplified and purified by the early philosophers of ancient China. Our first great philosopher was a founder of naturalism and our second great philosopher was an agnostic.

When asked if I consider myself Buddhist the answer is Not really. But it's more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don't practice or preach it however.

The memory of my own suffering has prevented me from ever shadowing one young soul with the superstition of the Christian religion.

Zionism was originally a rebellion against religious Judaism and the PLO Charter was essentially secularist. But because the conflict was allowed to fester without a resolution religion got sucked into the escalating cycle of violence and became part of the problem.

I am not interested in the afterlife. Religion is supposed to be about losing your ego not preserving it eternally in optimum conditions.

Religion is a search for transcendence. But transcendence isn't necessarily sited in an external god which can be a very unspiritual unreligious concept.

After I left the convent for 15 years I was worn out with religion I wanted nothing whatever to do with it. I felt disgusted with it. If I saw someone reading a religious book on a train I'd think how awful.