A few days ago
Anonymous

What does this phrase mean?

Above all the prime advantage of religions is to “inspire wholly contrary instincts.”

Please and thank you.

Top 4 Answers
A few days ago
Anonymous

Favorite Answer

It just means that religion can make people want to do things that they wouldn’t be prone to do otherwise.

Example: Christianity teaches us to love one another, but it would appear that it’s instinctual to humans to fight.

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A few days ago
Experto Credo
But what are the wholly contrary instincts?

Does it imply that we are meant to kill and religion tells us not to?

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A few days ago
Wherwolf
Tocqueville was saying religion was a way of “putting the brake on the materialistic democratic way of life”

Heavy topic.

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A few days ago
Sword Lily
It means that our heart is given over to an evil nature as humans. Religion seeks to keep us from indulging in that evil and doing that which is right.
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