How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"There must always be believers. Fools, idiots, those who hear voices, those who speak in tongues. We are your lunatics. We surrender our lives to make your nonbelief possible. You are sure you are right but you don't want everyone to think as you do." (40.150)
When Jack goes to a hospital, he's shocked to find out that the nuns working there don't actually believe in God or an afterlife. When he asks why they go on pretending, a nun tells him that normal, cynical people need religious people to make them feel smart for not believing in God. If everyone were an atheist, atheists wouldn't feel special. Basically, the message here is that no matter how cynical or non-believing a person is, that person will always take comfort in the thought that somewhere out there, there are actual believers.