Mary Douglas quotes

Mormons... are so strong, they can handle wealth, they are confident. I think it is because they are not bogged down by rules for equality, but have a firmly defined system of relative status and responsible command.

If people want to compete for leadership of a religious group, they can compete in piety. A chilling thought. Or funny.

If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization.

Inequality can have a bad downside, but equality, for its part, sure does get in the way of coordination.

Real equality is immensely difficult to achieve, it needs continual revision and monitoring of distributions. And it does not provide buffers between members, so they are continually colliding or frustrating each other.

Since 1970, relationships can be more volatile, jobs more ephemeral, geographical mobility more intensified, stability of marriage weaker.

Behind a leader there must be followers, but they should always be on the lookout for the main chance and ready to change sides if the current leader doesn't deliver.

It is only partly true that religion does more harm than good in society. The community makes God into the image it wants, vengeful, or milky sweet, or scrupulously just, and so on.

Religion can make it worse. Are you supposing that if people were encouraged to believe in a transcendent reality, and to be encouraged by grand rituals and music and preaching, to love their neighbors, then they would put jealousy and frustration aside?

I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too.

It is very reasonable to worry about the harm done by organized religion, and to prefer looser and more private arrangements.