"La religion est une insulte à la dignité humaine. Avec ou sans elle, vous auriez de bonnes personnes faisant de bonnes choses et de mauvaises personnes faisant de mauvaises choses. Mais pour que de bonnes personnes fassent de mauvaises choses, il faut de l"
— Steven Weinberg
Simplified Meaning:
The quote discusses the idea that people have the capacity to do both good and bad things, regardless of their religious beliefs. For example, you might know someone who helps others because they are kind and another person who harms others because they have bad intentions. The quote suggests that while normally good people do good things and bad people do bad things, sometimes otherwise good people can be convinced to do harmful things if their religion tells them it’s the right thing to do. An example from history can be the Crusades, where people believed they were doing noble acts by fighting for their faith, but in reality, they caused a lot of suffering and violence. So, the quote is implying that while religion can inspire noble actions, it can also lead people to commit harmful acts that they would not otherwise consider. The advice here is to be mindful of how beliefs and teachings, religious or otherwise, might influence our actions in ways that are not always positive. This means thinking critically about the reasons behind our actions, and not just following something blindly.