What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears.

The line suggests that when people encounter something they cannot explain—an unfamiliar culture, a natural phenomenon, a powerful person, an inner experience—they tend to respond by projecting emotion onto it rather than investigating it. Two common projections are reverence (turning the unknown into something sacred, authoritative, or unquestionable) and dread (treating it as threatening or monstrous). The quote implicitly argues for understanding as a liberating alternative: knowledge and empathy can replace superstition, prejudice, and panic. It also hints at how power can be maintained—institutions or individuals may benefit when others “worship” or “fear” what they do not understand.