Leslie Stephen Quotes
The division between faith and reason is a half-measure, till it is frankly admitted that faith has to do with fiction, and reason with fact.
Stephen, Leslie. History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century. Vol. 1, Smith, Elder, & Co., 1876.
He was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for figuring out that the earth revolved around the sun which was contrary to church teaching at the time.
See {641899} where Stanton concludes that religion as it existed then was a barrier to female emancipation.
This view of intelligence is what makes many deeply religious people suspicious of intellectuals. However, while higher intelligence and educational attainment are somewhat correlated with atheism, many of the most brilliant people are religious—for example, Albert Einstein. Atheists include many who are not well educated or brilliant.
This is almost the universal belief of scientists—religious or not. The faith of religion, if extended to science, does not give the person the tools of logic, empiricism, and deduction that is so critical for the scientist. The cleric, in contrast, requires faith. Politicians split. There are many who have the outlook of the scientist. However, there are also political ideologues, who want faithful adherence to the doctrine, as the theological leaders does, and does not subject the doctrine to analytic scrutiny.
Sir Leslie Stephen KCB FBA was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.
