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In religion and politics, people's belief's and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination
Mark Twain
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Interpretation

What this quote means

People often adopt beliefs in religion and politics without critical examination, relying on what others say.

Mark Twain highlights a critical observation about human behavior regarding beliefs in religion and politics. He suggests that many people hold their convictions not based on personal examination or understanding, but rather on what they have heard from others, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and independent thought in shaping one's beliefs.

Themes

BeliefsPoliticsReligionExaminationCritical Thinking

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about political ideologies, one could reference Twain's quote to encourage others to think critically about their beliefs.

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