To put it a little crudely, these days nobody is afraid of excommunication. If they decide they don't want to be Catholic anymore and want to become Episcopalians or Hindus, they just do it. The churches no longer have the… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
I think the Buddhist ethic is clearer and more systematic in some ways. The Buddhist notion is that our chief problems are greed, hatred… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
Buddhism and Christianity are incompatible because there is no God in Buddhism - particularly in Theravada Buddhism. But they are also allies because their… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
I often say that I'm a Buddhist-Episcopalian. I say that partly to annoy people.I like to annoy people who think that a religion can… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
Life is very difficult and we owe it to our fellow human beings to be as cheerful as we can. — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
One of the effects of religions getting together is that they borrow from one another. An example is the growing number of Catholics who… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
I've often admired the way many Catholics who have left the priesthood, for example, have nevertheless remained sincere Catholics. They voted with their feet. — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
A central feature of the ceremonial associated with Mithras was the taurobolium, the ritual slaughter of a bull which commemorated and repeated Mithras' primeval… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
People now have their own particular religion - a denomination of one. I suppose it's a part of the new age phenomenon, but it's… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
Children become more liberal partly as a reaction to their parents and partly through education. Education tends to make people a bit softer. — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
Syncretism can be disturbing to people. They have often been taught, "You have to have solid faith and must be sure of your religion,"… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
I don't regard fundamentalism in the United States or in Europe as a terrible threat, partly because it is a self-curing disease. The younger… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
I would like to see an agreement that recognizes that we live on the same planet and that some interests, such as human rights,… — Ninian Smart Copy Share Image
