"the birth of religion was when the first charlatan met the first fool."

This quote, or a similar one ("Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool"), is often attributed to Voltaire.

Thanks for posting in my thread on Pantheism. It sounds like your quite an authority on the subject!

Hi
Welcome to Atheist Nexus with its 8000+ good friends.
A useful group to join, with its 130 discussions and numerous video films, is “ORIGINS” (Origins: Universe, Life, Humans, Evolution, Religion....).
One discussion (over 70 posts) is "Proud to be Atheist". There's much to feel good about because atheists and humanists hold the intellectual high ground——far from the mental slavery of superstitious people who submit to a narrow-minded controlling clergy with their imaginary god, heaven and hell.
Terry Meaden