Eight Theories of Religion Quotes

“They are moved less by the direct presence of their gods than by the more indirect feeling that they would somehow like their gods to be present.”
― Daniel L. Pals, Eight Theories of Religion

“A society is not just a passing thought in someone’s head: it is an accumulated body of facts- of language, laws, customs, ideas, values, traditions, techniques, and products- all of which are connected to one another and exist in a manner quite “external” to individual human minds. They are in the world before we individuals arrive; the moment we are born, they impose themselves on us; as we grow through childhood, they mold us; in adulthood, they animate and guide us; and, just as surely, in death they survive us. P. 92.”
― Daniel L. Pals, Eight Theories of Religion

“Explanations need not be valid to be of value. In religion, as in other fields of inquiry, a suggestive and original theory can, even in failure, stimulate new inquiry or reformulate problems in such a way as to promote fruitful new understandings. (p.10).”
― Daniel L. Pals, Eight Theories of Religion