Who said “Religion is the dream of the human mind. But even in dreams we do not find ourselves in…”?

Verified

Ludwig Feuerbach. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourcePreface to Second Edition (1843)

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“Religion is the dream of the human mind. But even in dreams we do not find ourselves in emptiness or in heaven, but on earth, in the realm of reality; we only see real things in the entrancing splendor of imagination and caprice, instead of in the simple daylight of reality and necessity.”
— Ludwig Feuerbach
VerifiedPreface to Second Edition (1843) · evidenceReligion

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Preface to Second Edition (1843).

APA

Feuerbach, L. (n.d.). Religion is the dream of the human mind. But even in dreams we do not find ourselves in emptiness or in heaven, but on earth, in the realm of reality; we only see real things in the entrancing splendor of imagination and caprice, instead of in the simple daylight of reality and necessity. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/35617-religion-is-the-dream-of-the-human-mind/

MLA

Feuerbach, Ludwig. “Religion is the dream of the human mind. But even in dreams we do not find ourselves in emptiness or in heaven, but on earth, in the realm of reality; we only see real things in the entrancing splendor of imagination and caprice, instead of in the simple daylight of reality and necessity.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/35617-religion-is-the-dream-of-the-human-mind/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Feuerbach, Ludwig. “Religion is the dream of the human mind. But even in dreams we do not find ourselves in emptiness or in heaven, but on earth, in the realm of reality; we only see real things in the entrancing splendor of imagination and caprice, instead of in the simple daylight of reality and necessity.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/35617-religion-is-the-dream-of-the-human-mind/.

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More quotes by Ludwig Feuerbach

“If therefore my work is negative, irreligious, atheistic, let it be remembered that atheism -- at least in the sense of this work -- is the secret of religion itself; that religion itself, not indeed on the surface, but fundamentally, not in intention or according to its own supposition, but in its heart, in its essence, believes in nothing else than the truth and divinity of human nature.”
VerifiedThe Essence of Christianity (1841), Preface · evidenceDetails & citeAtheism
“I have always taken as the standard of the mode of teaching and writing, not the abstract, particular, professional philosopher, but universal man, that I have regarded man as the criterion of truth, and not this or that founder of a system, and have from the first placed the highest excellence of the philosopher in this, that he abstains, both as a man and as an author, from the ostentation of philosophy, i.e., that he is a philosopher only in reality, not formally, that he is a quiet philosopher, not a loud and still less a brawling one.”
VerifiedPreface to Second Edition (1843) · evidenceDetails & citePhilosophers and Philosophy
“The present age prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original, fancy to reality, the appearance to the essence for in these days illusion only is sacred, truth profane.”
Symbols
All 4 Ludwig Feuerbach quotes →