15 quotes about religion to get you thinking

Looking for some quotes about religion, dear reader?

Faith can be a source of great comfort for people, of course, but it can also be a source of tension between people too.

As you’ll know only too well, there have been many wars over the years that have been driven by religious beliefs.

Religious principles:

However, if you look closely at the underlying principles of all the major world religions then, to me at least, essentially they’re all the same.

Just think about it for a moment, dear reader.

Surely, all the major world religions provide people with a moral framework and a philosophy by which they can live good, decent and productive lives?

In that sense, it’s fair to say that religion is an essential part of civilization, wouldn’t you agree?

Without a moral framework to which people adhere, then we would be left with nothing but barbarism in this world, surely?

Religion and culture:

Nevertheless, things start to get a bit more complicated when we consider the idea of culture because, of course, every religion underpins the culture of its adherents.

By definition, culture is simply the way things are done around here. And things are done differently wherever we go.

So, culture introduces differences between groups of people and of course, human beings often struggle to accept differences.

Our need for security:

That’s actually quite natural if you think about it.

You see, one of the most fundamental human needs is the need to feel secure. If we don’t feel secure, it can very quickly drain our energy and put us constantly on edge.

Human beings are programmed with a survival instinct and if we feel insecure we’re constantly on our guard, alert to every danger. This is linked to our ‘fight or flight‘ instinct.

The problem with differences between people is that they tend to make people feel insecure, which creates obvious tension.

Coupled with the emotional bond people feel towards their religious identity, this can create significant tensions between groups of people.

The result has often been war and there have been numerous examples of this throughout the ages, and this continues to this day.

In reality, we’re all just people:

All too often we focus on our differences when, in fact, we’re all much more alike than we would care to admit.

Think about it. We eat, we sleep, we laugh, we cry; we all go to the toilet occasionally, we all seek prosperity and we want a better world for our children. If you travel to any place you’ll find we all have those things in common.

My point here is that, if only we could focus more on those things we all have in common, perhaps the world would be a much better place. Would you agree, dear reader? I hope so.

However, whilst you’re considering that question, here are 15 inspirational quotes about religion to get you thinking.

Quotes about religion (1-8):

Toleration is the best religion. ~Victor Hugo
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. ~Dalai Lama

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. ~Buddha
I am thankful I can see much to admire in all religions. ~Alfred Russel Wallace
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. ~Napoleon Bonaparte

Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~Soren Kierkegaard
Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair. ~Gilbert K. Chesterton
All religions must be tolerated… for every man must get to heaven in his own way. ~Epictetus

Quotes about religion (9-15):

When I do good, I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad, and that’s my religion. ~Abraham Lincoln
Religion is the idol of the mob; it adores everything it does not understand. ~Frederick the Great
The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself. ~Richard Burton

Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time. ~Richard Dawkins
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. ~Galileo Galilei
I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, and pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. ~Khalil Gibran

It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui. ~Helen Keller

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