Anti-religious proverbs and sayings appeared in ancient times. They were passed by word of mouth, distributed on the lists, despite the prohibition of the authorities, on the persecution of the church. And it is no coincidence that V.G. Belinsky turned to proverbs to prove the disbelief of the Russian people in God. In his famous letter to Gogol, he noted that the Russian people are anti-religious in essence. The same idea was carried out by A.I. Herzen. He wrote: "Many proverbs testify to the indifference of Russians to religion.."