# Quote — Carl Sagan, Broca's Brain

> It is astonishing in the face of such transparent evasions that this religion has any adherents at all. But religions are tough. Either they make no contentions which are subject to disproof or they quickly redesign doctrine after disproof. The fact that religions can be so shamelessly dishonest, so contemptuous of the intelligence of their adherents, and still flourish does not speak very well for the tough-mindedness of the believers. But it does indicate, if a demonstration were needed, that near the core of the religious experience is something remarkably resistant to rational inquiry.

- Author: [Carl Sagan](https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan.md)
- Book: [Broca's Brain](https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/brocas-brain.md)
- Page: 332
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Broca's_Brain_(1979)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/brocas-brain/it-is-astonishing

## More from this book

> Much of human history can, I think, be described as a gradual and sometimes painful liberation from provincialism, the emerging awareness that there is more to the world than was generally believed by our ancestors.

p. 240 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/brocas-brain/much-of-human.md)

> I believe that the extraordinary should certainly be pursued. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

p. 73 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/brocas-brain/i-believe-that.md)

> All inquiries carry with them some element of risk. There is no guarantee that the universe will conform to our predispositions. But I do not see how we can deal with the universe—both the outside and the inside universe—without studying it. The best way to avoid abuses is for the populace in general to be scientifically literate, to understand the implications of such investigations. In exchange for freedom of inquiry, scientists are obliged to explain their work. If science is considered a closed priesthood, too difficult and arcane for the average person to understand, the dangers of abuse are greater. But if science is a topic of general interest and concern—if both its delights and its social consequences are discussed regularly and competently in the schools, the press, and at the dinner table—we have greatly improved our prospects for learning how the world really is and for improving both it and us.

p. 13 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-sagan/brocas-brain/all-inquiries-carry.md)