--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An atheist may, of course, also feel…" description: "\"“An atheist may, of course, also feel clean after taking a bath and dirty without one, but the mikveh ritual, associating outer hygiene with the recove..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg" --- # An atheist may, of course, also feel clean after taking a… ![“An atheist may, of course, also feel clean after taking a bath and dirty without one, but the mikveh ritual, associating outer hygiene with the recovery of a particular kind of inner purity, like so many other symbolic practices promoted by religions, manages to use a physical activity to support…” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg) > ““An atheist may, of course, also feel clean after taking a bath and dirty without one, but the mikveh ritual, associating outer hygiene with the recovery of a particular kind of inner purity, like so many other symbolic practices promoted by religions, manages to use a physical activity to support a spiritual lesson.”” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religious rituals often link physical cleanliness to spiritual purity, using tangible acts to teach intangible lessons. **In simple terms:** Physical acts can symbolize spiritual ideas. Key Takeaway Use rituals to reinforce values. Themes religion symbolism purity Mood contemplative neutral Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - daily hygiene - religious practice - personal reflection Key Concepts ritual psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - Can a ritual’s meaning persist without belief? - Do symbolic acts always affect inner states? A Different Perspective Physical cleanliness alone may not achieve inner purity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Physical activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-activity/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Dirty joke! Timmy fell in mud. Clean joke! Timmy played with bubbles in the bath. 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Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) [Browse all 154 Physical activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An atheist may, of course, also feel clean after taking a bath and dirty without one, but the mikveh ritual, associating outer hygiene with the recovery of a particular kind of inner purity, like so many other symbolic practices promoted by religions, manages to use a physical activity to support a spiritual lesson.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean-after-taking-a-bath-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Physical activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean-after-taking-a-bath-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alain-de-botton-221_physical-activity_an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean_624439.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An atheist may, of course, also feel clean after taking a bath and dirty without one, but the mikveh ritual…” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“An atheist may, of course, also...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean-after-taking-a-bath-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/an-atheist-may-of-course-also-feel-clean-after-taking-a-bath-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```