Did Russell Say, "Religion is a Snare and Racket"?

By Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Many things Russell stated are being distorted to mean something he never intended. However, at the same time some things are being attributed to Russell that he never stated. One of these is the phrase, "Religion is a snare and racket." AZ Quotes has a page entitled "The Top 8 Quotes of Charles Taze Russell". In reality, what we find there are some quotes of lesser value of Russell and one quote that is not from Russell at all. Most of the quotes given are obviously not what most Bible Students would consider "top quotes" from Russell. Most of the quotes given are obviously designed, not to truthfully represent Russell and what he believed, but some of the quotes are obviously designed to misreperesent Russell, such as by making him appear to be saying that he was a member of or in support of man's Freemasons organization, when he was actually not saying such. But among the quotes is one that claim Russell stated, "Religion is a snare and a racket".  Most Bible Students would know immediately that this slogan is not from Russell, but is from Joseph Rutherford.

Quotetab does similar to AZ Quotes, as it presents quotes from Russell with that apparent motive of denigrating Russell, while not quoting any of the more important things Russell stated. Among the quotes between attributed to Russell is, "Religion is a snare and a racket". Russell, of course, never said this.

Another site that also quotes some of the less beneficial quotes from Russell, while ignoring the great amount of wonderful quotes that could have been presented from Russell, is the site wisefamousquotes.com. Like the other two sites, focus is placed, not on any actual wise quotes that could have been brought forth from Russell, but on a few quotes obviously thought to make Russell appear to be unwise. 

So far we have not found anyone who quotes (misquotes?) Russell as having said this that provides any proof that he did say this. We have made several digital searches of Brother Russell's works. So far we have not been able to find any place that Russell ever made such a statement, and actually, anyone familiar with Russell's works would know that such a statement would not be in harmony with what Russell believed. An online search of his work for the word "racket" does not reveal any such statement made by Russell. More than likely, Russell is being confused with Joseph Rutherford, who had his followers carry signs proclaiming that "religion is a snare and a racket." Russell, however, did believe in one religion: Christianity. He did not believe in setting up a new religion, sect, denomination, etc.

Anyone familiar with Russell's works, however, would know that Russell's usage of the word 'religion" does not reflect the slogan, "Religion is a snare and a racket." Here is something that one could quote from Russell about religion:

THE doctrine of the Atonement lies at the very foundation of the Christian religion. Having thus the most important place in theology, a clear understanding of this subject is very essential, and this is generally conceded amongst Christian people. -- The Atonement Between God and Man, page 15.

This does not at all sound like Russell thought that "religion is a snare and a racket". One might think that perhaps he might have thought that false religion is a snare and a racket, but we could not even find any statement in Russell's works that would confirm such an idea. It would certainly appear to be out of his character for him to say that all and any religion is a snare and a racket. However, as best as we can determine, Brother Russell did not view the Bible Students as a "religion." He, himself, does not appear to use the word "religion" to any great extent.

Brother Russell did say:

The Kingdom of God's dear Son is to be one of "power and great glory;" that before it, in a time of trouble, every other religion and influence will crumble to dust; that Satan shall be bound, and for a thousand years the most blessed influence favorable to righteousness will be brought to bear upon mankind.

Here he refers to any "other religion" in contrast to the kingdom of God's dear Son. Evdiently, the thought is that eventually there will be only one religion which would be Christ's Kingdom. Of course, it should be obvious that God is not going to permit all the present day religions, denominations and sects of man to continue to in existence for all eternity.

Obviously, those who claim Russell stated that religion is a snare and racket indeed fail to distinguish Brother Russell from Joseph Rutherford. Russell was never a member of, and did not believe in, the "Jehovah's Witnesses" organization. After Russell died, Rutherford -- not Russell -- made the claim that "Religion is a snare and a racket." Brother Russell never claimed such, and, of course, he had no control over what anyone did after he died. The picture above is not a picture of the Bible Students, but rather of the followers of Joseph Rutherford, who took the name "Jehovah's Witnesses."

Some other places where Russell discusses "religion":

Obedience to God the Best Education

Earth's Night of Sin to Terminate in a Morning of Joy

For information about most of the other quotes on the sites linked to above, see our general page on Charles Taze Russell.