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'''Russell's teapot''', sometimes called the '''Celestial Teapot''', was an analogy first coined by the philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]] (1872–1970), intended to refute the idea that the [[burden of proof]] lies upon the <!--DO NOT CHANGE SCEPTIC-->[[Scepticism|sceptic]]<!--please do not change the spelling of sceptic to the American skeptic. Russell was British, and this article therefore uses British English--> to disprove [[Falsifiability|unfalsifiable]] claims of [[religion]]s. In an article entitled "Is There a God?"<ref>[http://www.cfpf.org.uk/articles/religion/br/br_god.html Bertrand Russell: Is There a God?] </ref> commissioned (but never published) by ''Illustrated'' magazine in [[1952]], Russell wrote:

'''Russell's teapot''', sometimes called the '''Celestial Teapot''', was an analogy first coined by the philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]] (1872–1970), intended to refute the idea that the [[burden of proof]] lies upon the sceptic to disprove [[Falsifiability|unfalsifiable]] claims of [[religion]]s. In an article entitled "Is There a God?"<ref>[http://www.cfpf.org.uk/articles/religion/br/br_god.html Bertrand Russell: Is There a God?] </ref> commissioned (but never published) by ''Illustrated'' magazine in 1952, Russell wrote:

{{cquote|If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.}}

{{cquote|If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.}}