Katha Pollitt Quotes

‘Respect for religion’ has become a code phrase meaning ‘fear of religion.’ Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.

Among the more irritating consequences of our flagrantly religious society is the special dispensation that mainstream religions receive. We all may talk about religion as a powerful social force, but unlike other similarly powerful institutions, religion is not to be questioned, criticized or mocked.

No, I don't think it's fair to label Islam 'violent.' But I will say that to my knowledge, no writer has ever gone into hiding for criticizing the Amish.

I'm very keen on having true freedom of expression. True freedom of faith. And free practice of religious faith.

It's OK to burn a Bible, that's OK. OK to burn a flag, OK, that's all right. But just, you know, for heaven's sake, don't say anything that might offend someone of the Islamic religion.

So, this is my plea to all Western editors and producers: Display the Muhammad cartoon daily, until the Islamists become accustomed to the fact that we turn sacred cows into hamburger.

Sharia is the impetus behind multinational diplomatic efforts to accommodate Sharia blasphemy prohibitions on expression that offends Muslims.

To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a freedom.

I don't think it is given to any of us to be impertinent to great religions with impunity.

Christianity takes this beating that I really don't understand and yet you can't say anything negative about the Muslims because that's horrible, you can't say anything negative about other faiths.

People of faith should be able to have confidence in their right to freely express and live their beliefs.

Given the insults by Danish newspapers against the prophet, as of now the name of Danish pastries will give way to ‘Rose of Mohammad’ pastries … This is a punishment for those who started misusing freedom of expression to insult the sanctities of Islam.

That every man’s speak freely without fear, maintain the principles that he believes, worship according to his own faith, either one God, three Gods, no God, or 20 Gods; and let government protect him in doing so.

Freedom of the press and of religious opinion should be inviolate.

No political party can or ought to exist when one of its corner-stones is opposition to freedom of thought and to the right to worship God.

It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty Gods, or no God.

We don’t need to ban bad ideas. We just need to criticize bad ideas.

We've all been brought up with the view that religion has some kind of special privileged status. You're not allowed to criticise it.

The Dutch are still allowed to speak critically about Islam, and resistance against Islamization is not a crime.

Nowhere does our Constitution say we cannot say something about another's religion. Nowhere does our Constitution say we cannot say anything that offends someone.

Americans are squeamish about anything that seems to punish people for their religious beliefs.

I'm afraid I don't believe there is such a thing as blasphemy, just outrage from those insecure in their own faith.

To speak plainly and truthfully about the state of our world - to say, for instance, that the Bible and the Koran both contain mountains of life-destroying gibberish - is antithetical to tolerance as moderates currently conceive it. But we can no longer afford the luxury of such political correctness. We must finally recognize the price we are paying to maintain the iconography of our ignorance.

No idea is above scrutiny. No idea whatsoever. To criticize, to scrutinize and to satirize my own religion [Islam] is not Islamophobia.

The very aspect of religions that many of their critics most fear - that the religiously devout, in the name of their faith, take positions that differ from approved state policy - is one of their strengths.