الإنسان يسعى إلى المعرفة، والإنسان ينتحر بسبب فقدان التماسك في مجتمعه الديني؛ ولا ينتحر بسبب علمه. فليس العلمُ المكتسَب هو ما يُفكّك الدين، بل إنّ الرغبة في المعرفة تستيقظ حين يتفكك الدين.

“Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because of his learning. It is certainly not the learning he acquires that disorganizes religion; but the desire for knowledge wakens because religion becomes disorganized.”Emile Durkheim — Durkheim on Religion: A Selection of Readings with Bibliographies and Introductory Remarks (2011)