Most men would kill the truth if truth would kill their religion.

The line is a blunt indictment of motivated reasoning in matters of faith: when a cherished religious commitment feels threatened by inconvenient facts, many people will protect the commitment rather than revise it. “Kill the truth” is hyperbole for suppressing, ignoring, or attacking evidence—socially (silencing dissent), intellectually (rationalizing), or institutionally (censorship). The quote also implies that religion, when treated as identity or security rather than inquiry, can become fragile—requiring insulation from scrutiny. Read more broadly, it warns that any worldview can become dogma if its adherents value loyalty over honesty, and it frames truth-seeking as a moral test, not merely an intellectual one.