The major civilizing force in the world is not religion, it is sex.

The line encapsulates Hugh Hefner’s long-running argument that sexual desire and erotic expression are not merely private matters but powerful social forces that shape manners, art, commerce, and interpersonal ethics. By calling sex the “major civilizing force,” the quote suggests that societies become more tolerant and sophisticated when they acknowledge sexuality openly rather than repress it through moral or religious strictures. The contrast with “religion” is polemical: it frames traditional religious authority as less responsible for human progress than the drives and relationships that bind people together. In Hefner’s worldview, sexual freedom is linked to broader personal liberty and modernity.