On the record
We are very religious as a people, so far as religion is convenient, and consistent with money-getting, office, and power; but so far as it interferes with those pursuits, we are a nation of infidels.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Sumner critiques the hypocrisy of American religiosity when it conflicts with material pursuits.
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Their existence is a disgrace to civilization; for it implies the common consent of nations to the Arbitrament of War, as regulated by these laws.
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