"The 20th century, with its scores of millions of supernumerary dead, has been called the age of ideology. And the age of ideology, clearly, was a mere hiatus in the age of religion, which shows no sign of expiry. Since it is no longer permissible to disparage any single faith or creed, let us start disparaging all of them. To be clear: an ideology is a belief system with an inadequate basis in reality; a religion is a belief system with no basis in reality whatever. Religious belief is without reason and without dignity, and its record is near-universally dreadful. It is straightforward β and never mind, for now, about plagues and famines: if God existed, and if He cared for humankind, He would never have given us religion."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Novelists from EnglandEssayists from EnglandShort story writers from EnglandScience fiction authors from EnglandScreenwriters from England
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Amis
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Martin Amis
Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 β 19 May 2023) was a British novelist, essayist and short story writer. He was the son of Kingsley Amis.
119 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Martin Amis β
Related Quotes
"In the end one cannot avoid the conclusion that AIDS unites certain human themes β homosexuality, sexual disease, andβ¦"
"Weapons are like money; no one knows the meaning of enough."
"Bullets cannot be recalled. They cannot be uninvented. But they can be taken out of the gun."
"I have strong moral views, and they are very much directed at things like money and acquisition. I think money is theβ¦"
"Style is not neutral; it gives moral directions."
"Every writer hopes or boldly assumes that his life is in some sense exemplary, that the particular will turn out to bβ¦"
"Being inoffensive, and being offended, are now the twin addictions of the culture."
"It's been said that happiness writes white. It doesn't show up on the page. When you're on holiday and writing a lettβ¦"
"When you review an exhibition of paintings you don't compose a painting about it, when you review a film you don't maβ¦"
"Nowadays every business in America says how warm it is and how much it cares β loan companies, supermarkets, hamburgeβ¦"