--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's as though either you accept…" description: "\"It's as though either you accept [religious] doctrine and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you reject the doctrine and you're living in some ki..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg" --- # It's as though either you accept \[religious\] doctrine and… ![“It's as though either you accept [religious] doctrine and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you reject the doctrine and you're living in some kind of spiritual wasteland under the guidance of CNN and Walmart.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg) > “It's as though either you accept \[religious\] doctrine and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you reject the doctrine and you're living in some kind of spiritual wasteland under the guidance of CNN and Walmart.” [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. Contrasts the promise of religious comfort with secular emptiness, suggesting modern consumer culture offers shallow substitutes for spiritual fulfillment **In simple terms:** Religion offers comfort; secular life can feel empty Key Takeaway Seek deeper meaning beyond consumerism Themes religion secularism culture meaning Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - media influence - search for purpose Key Concepts existentialism spiritual emptiness consumer culture Questions to Reflect On - What gives you a sense of meaning today? - Can secular practices replace religious community? A Different Perspective Spiritual fulfillment may be found outside religion ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-religious-2913040/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [CNN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cnn/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Doctrine Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine-nice-3225983/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Guidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guidance/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Rejects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejects/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-doctrine-802002/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual Wasteland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-wasteland-3225982/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Walmart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walmart/) [Wasteland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasteland/) ## Related quotes > [“All right, Father. Those are their aims, of course. But can’t you see that the Nazis are not promoting them in any such rational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-kressmann-taylor/all-right-father-those-are-their-aims-of-course-but-can-t-you-see/) [Kathrine Kressmann Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-kressmann-taylor/) > [If you must believe in anything, believe in yourselves, in your senses, in your minds. To accept a religious creed is to accept another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilla-ricker/if-you-must-believe-in-anything-believe-in-yourselves-in-your-senses/) [Marilla Ricker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilla-ricker/) > [I am terrified of restrictive religious doctrine, having learned from history that when men who adhere to any form of it are in control,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/i-am-terrified-of-restrictive-religious-doctrine-having-learned-from/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [The most important thing is practice in daily life; then you can know gradually the true value of religion. Doctrine is not meant for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-most-important-thing-is-practice-in-daily-life-then-you-can-know/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I care only to know, if possible, the lasting meaning that lies in all religious doctrine from the beginning till now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-care-only-to-know-if-possible-the-lasting-meaning-that-lies-in-all/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Religions fulfill deep-seated psychological needs for people, and if you don't get it from a specific religious doctrine, you'll get it from the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/religions-fulfill-deep-seated-psychological-needs-for-people-and-if/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [The usefulness of religion - the fact that it gives life meaning, that it makes people feel good - is not an argument for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-usefulness-of-religion-the-fact-that-it-gives-life-meaning-that/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [I am aware that I preach a religious doctrine understood and accepted by a very small part of the religious world, when I point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-richards/i-am-aware-that-i-preach-a-religious-doctrine-understood-and-accepted/) [Stephen L. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-richards/) > [I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-reject-any-religious-doctrine-that-does-not-appeal-to-reason-and-is/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A comprehensive doctrine, either religious or secular, aspires to cover all of life. I mean, if it's a religious doctrine, it talks about our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/a-comprehensive-doctrine-either-religious-or-secular-aspires-to-cover/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [The problem with religious doctrine, as with politics, because of its ability to give people authority, it has a tendency to attract people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-forge/the-problem-with-religious-doctrine-as-with-politics-because-of-its/) [Tobias Forge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-forge/) > [The great masses of people do not consist of philosophers; precisely for the masses, faith is often the sole foundation of a moral attitude.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-great-masses-of-people-do-not-consist-of-philosophers-precisely/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The religious doctrine of traditional Judaism entails the acceptance of the nationhood of the Jewish people and the everlasting sanctity of the Land of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-novak/the-religious-doctrine-of-traditional-judaism-entails-the-acceptance/) [David Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-novak/) > [Have you considered that the Bible, like all religious doctrine, may be allegorical and symbolic, to direct us toward one holy entity of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/have-you-considered-that-the-bible-like-all-religious-doctrine-may-be/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [No religious doctrine shall be established by law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbridge-gerry/no-religious-doctrine-shall-be-established-by-law/) [Elbridge Gerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbridge-gerry/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's as though either you accept [religious] doctrine and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you reject the doctrine and you're living in some kind of spiritual wasteland under the guidance of CNN and Walmart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religious-doctrine-and-then-you-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religious-doctrine-and-then-you-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a7/alain-de-botton-221_accepting_it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religio_2768643.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's as though either you accept [religious] doctrine and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you…” — 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": "It's as though either you accept...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religious-doctrine-and-then-you-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-s-as-though-either-you-accept-religious-doctrine-and-then-you-can/#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 } } ] } ```