There is a reason why hypocrisy is often called the “universal sin.” It’s because we are all guilty of it, in one way or another. And there’s nothing quite as satisfying as calling out someone for being a hypocrite. In this blog post, we’ve compiled some of our favorite hypocrisy quotes from famous entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The best hypocrisy quotes

1. I read the Bible, I speak through issues, I see what I think is hypocrisy in the church and things that are wrong, and I speak to these things. But I could be wrong. — Tony Campolo

2. People relate to the spirit of the band, which is to live your way and succeed on your own terms. There’s no hypocrisy in being successful and still railing against conformity. — Paul Stanley

3. To forgive, you must love the world and everything in it. Anything less is hypocrisy. — Psyche Roxas–Mendoza

4. Forgiveness is not an invitation to become a doormat for other people’s hypocrisy. — Shannon L. Alder

5. Perhaps the most significant moral characteristic of a nation is its hypocrisy. — Reinhold Niebuhr

6. Art, like religion, arises from the spirit, but alas, the formalizing of spiritual life all too often ends in hypocrisy. — Michael Leunig

7. I think [audiences are] more aware now of the contradictions in mainstream culture, the phony piety that permeates society, the inhumane hypocrisy. — Paul Krassner

8. If your life itself is not a message then no matter what you preach, your preaching will become a hypocrisy. — Rahul Karn, Zensational Stories: Volume 1

9. I know of only two alternatives to hypocrisy: perfection or honesty. — Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

10. Perhaps the most significant moral characteristic of a nation is its hypocrisy. — Reinhold Niebuhr

11. Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy. — Warren W. Wiersbe

12. My function here is to destroy all hypocrisy in you. — Rajneesh

13. To forgive, you must love the world and everything in it. Anything less is hypocrisy. — Psyche Roxas–Mendoza

14. Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a begging. — Martin Luther

15. This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit. — Pete Seeger

16. Avoid the base hypocrisy of condemning in one man what you pass over in silence when committed by another. — Theodore Roosevelt

17. I read the Bible, I speak through issues, I see what I think is hypocrisy in the church and things that are wrong, and I speak to these things. But I could be wrong. — Tony Campolo

18. College football today is one of the last great strongholds of genuine old–fashioned American hypocrisy. — Noel Gallagher

19. The work of the poet has always been to shine a bright light on the absurdities of society, challenging hypocrisy and greed, and presenting the tools of change. (Donovan) — Yoko Ono

20. When I first saw a picture of the crucifixion, I lost respect for my parents. I suddenly realised that this is what the adult world is like–full of cruelty and hypocrisy. — Vivienne Westwood

21. Our actual enemy is not any force exterior to ourselves, but our own crying weaknesses, our cowardice, our selfishness, our hypocrisy, our purblind sentimentalism. — Sri Aurobindo

22. The greatest superstition now entertained by public men is that hypocrisy is the royal road to success. — Robert Green Ingersoll

23. I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy. — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

24. The British are just as keen to make money as the Americans but they prefer hypocrisy to a blatantly commercial attitude. — Wendy Michener

25. I know of only two alternatives to hypocrisy: perfection or honesty. — Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

26. Avoid the base hypocrisy of condemning in one man what you pass over in silence when committed by another. — Theodore Roosevelt

27. The work of the poet has always been to shine a bright light on the absurdities of society, challenging hypocrisy and greed, and presenting the tools of change. (Donovan) — Yoko Ono

28. God is aware of the hypocrisy in the hearts of men — Sunday Adelaja

29. Art, like religion, arises from the spirit, but alas, the formalizing of spiritual life all too often ends in hypocrisy. — Michael Leunig

30. The world’s flattery and hypocrisy is a sweet morsel: eat less of it, for it is full of fire. Its fire is hidden while its taste is manifest, but its smoke becomes visible in the end. — Rumi

31. Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together. — Scott Meyer, Help Is on the Way: A Collection of Basic Instructions: Collection of Basic Instructions v. 1

32. Hypocrisy is the outward acknowledgment of inward shame. — Norm Macdonald

33. Humankind is still fooling around with hypocrisy, I thought. They don’t realize that it’s too late even for that. — Saul Bellow

34. People relate to the spirit of the band, which is to live your way and succeed on your own terms. There’s no hypocrisy in being successful and still railing against conformity. — Paul Stanley

35. With people of only moderate ability modesty is mere honesty but with those who possess great talent it is hypocrisy. — Schopenhauer

36. I read the Bible, I speak through issues, I see what I think is hypocrisy in the church and things that are wrong, and I speak to these things. But I could be wrong. — Tony Campolo

37. There is a certain satisfaction in coming down to the lowest ground of politics, for we get rid of cant and hypocrisy. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

38. Forgiveness is not an invitation to become a doormat for other people’s hypocrisy. — Shannon L. Alder

39. If your life itself is not a message then no matter what you preach, your preaching will become a hypocrisy. — Rahul Karn, Zensational Stories: Volume 1

40. Rejecting God’s truth b/c of mankind’s hypocrisy is like rejecting mathematical truth b/c mankind’s incompetence. — Orrin Woodward

41. There is plenty of ambitious competition and hypocrisy in the middle class, which makes it a rather fertile environment for a writer. — J. K. Rowling

42. With people of only moderate ability modesty is mere honesty but with those who possess great talent it is hypocrisy. — Schopenhauer

43. Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a begging. — Martin Luther

44. With people of only moderate ability modesty is mere honesty but with those who possess great talent it is hypocrisy. — Schopenhauer

45. Compassion is not a sometime action — it’s an every time passion! You can’t be compassionate for less than 7 days in one week… That’s first class hypocrisy!

46. I know of only two alternatives to hypocrisy: perfection or honesty. — Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

47. The greatest superstition now entertained by public men is that hypocrisy is the royal road to success. — Robert Green Ingersoll

48. Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy. — Samuel Johnson

49. When you turn your back on hypocrisy and do nothing you don’t change the hearts of others you change yours. — Shannon L. Alder

50. The same old hypocrisy. Life is a fight, and the strongest wins. All civilization does is hide the blood and cover up the hate with pretty words! — Ursula K. Le Guin

Conclusion

It is evident that hypocrisy has been around for centuries and continues to be a major problem in our society today. While it can be difficult to recognize, it is essential that we do so in order to create a more inclusive and just world. We hope that these quotes have given you some insight into the topic of hypocrisy and encouraged you to think critically about how it affects our lives.