An escalating, violent tit-for-tat may lead to terrorism.
Mary Douglas

Any great organization can go through sectarian phases.
Mary Douglas

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.
Mary Douglas

Enclave life becomes very tense, Even when they do elect a leader, the factions remain, with the threat of splitting off.
Mary Douglas

Every year the progress of advanced capitalist society makes our population consist of more and more isolates. This is because of the infrastructure of the economy, especially electronic communications.
Mary Douglas

Hierarchy is is much reviled in the present day.
Mary Douglas

Hierarchy works well in a stable environment.
Mary Douglas

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

I am sure it must be true that people opt out of the mainstream society because they feel that there are going to be no rewards for them, if they stay.
Mary Douglas

I have increasingly, over the years, felt that religion today does our civilization more harm than good.
Mary Douglas


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

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

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

Inside a religious body you get sects and hierarchies, inside an information network you get bazaars and cathedrals, it is the same, call them what you like. They survive by pointing the finger of blame at each other.
Mary Douglas

Islam is in principle egalitarian, and has always had problems with power.
Mary Douglas

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.
Mary Douglas

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

It seems true that the growth of science and secularism made organized Christianity feel under threat.
Mary Douglas

It's unlikely that the organized religions will get more sectarian... or is it? I am not at all sure.
Mary Douglas

Just in our lifetime our society has become looser and more private, it becomes extremely difficult to hold to any permanent commitment whatever, least of all to organized religion.
Mary Douglas