--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I just wish this social institution…" description: "\"I just wish this social institution [religion] wasnt based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of customs and myths ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg" --- # I just wish this social institution \[religion\] wasnt based… ![“I just wish this social institution [religion] wasnt based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of customs and myths directed toward proving something that isnt true.” quote by Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg) > “I just wish this social institution \[religion\] wasnt based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of customs and myths directed toward proving something that isnt true.” [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker criticizes religion as a constructed system of customs and myths that lack truth. **In simple terms:** Religion seen as a false, mythic system. Key Takeaway Question beliefs critically. Themes skepticism religion truth myths customs Mood critical contemplative Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - personal reflection - debate - education - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts philosophy critical thinking social constructs Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would change your view? - How do rituals affect personal well‑being? A Different Perspective Religious faith can provide community and meaning despite doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Hoax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoax/) [Hoax Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoax-built-2970024/) [Hoaxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoaxes/) [Institution Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution-religion-2128304/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Monumental Hoax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monumental-hoax-2970023/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Wasnt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-wasnt-3555654/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-institutions/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [ “I just wish this social institution \[religion\] wasn't based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasn-t-based-on-what/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/president-obama-is-the-greatest-hoax-ever-perpetrated-on-the-american/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Donald Trump thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. I think it's real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/donald-trump-thinks-that-climate-change-is-a-hoax-perpetrated-by-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [In 1932, lame duck president Herbert Hoover was so desperate to remain in the White House that he dressed up as Eleanor Roosevelt. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/in-1932-lame-duck-president-herbert-hoover-was-so-desperate-to-remain/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [It's all a big hoax, honey. I never wrote a song in my life. I get one-third of the credit for recording it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/it-s-all-a-big-hoax-honey-i-never-wrote-a-song-in-my-life-i-get-one/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Though if love was an animal, Garret knew, it would probably be the Loch Ness Monster. If it didn’t exist, that didn’t matter. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/though-if-love-was-an-animal-garret-knew-it-would-probably-be-the/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Vidal gives the impression of believing that the entire heterosexual edifice - registry offices, 'Romeo and Juliet,' the disposable diaper - is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/vidal-gives-the-impression-of-believing-that-the-entire-heterosexual/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Donald Trump believes that climate change is a hoax. Now, this is not just a stupid expression, but it is incredibly dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/donald-trump-believes-that-climate-change-is-a-hoax-now-this-is-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [This idea of art for art's sake is a hoax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/this-idea-of-art-for-art-s-sake-is-a-hoax/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The hoax is the very absence of truth, which usually means art is absent, too - hoaxes regularly substitute claims of reality for imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/the-hoax-is-the-very-absence-of-truth-which-usually-means-art-is/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I know climate change is a hoax – of course – but places that have never seen this type of winter weather got hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-know-climate-change-is-a-hoax-of-course-but-places-that-have-never/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [There are some things I don't like, about which I think, well, that's me. But coriander is a giant hoax perpetrated by a perverted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/there-are-some-things-i-don-t-like-about-which-i-think-well-that-s-me/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [As is so often the case with pieces that appear in the 'Onion,' I honestly could not decide whether this was a clever hoax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-is-so-often-the-case-with-pieces-that-appear-in-the-onion-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [In a secular age, an authentic miracle must purport to be a hoax, in order to gain credit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/in-a-secular-age-an-authentic-miracle-must-purport-to-be-a-hoax-in/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The story of the Khazar Empire, as it slowly emerges from the past, begins to look like the most cruel hoax which history has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-story-of-the-khazar-empire-as-it-slowly-emerges-from-the-past/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) ## More by Andy Rooney > [I like Valentine's Day. The trouble is the florists and the candy-makers and the card people are all advertising so much, you don't dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-like-valentine-s-day-the-trouble-is-the-florists-and-the-candy/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Last night we had three small zucchini for dinner that were grown within fifty feet of our back door. I estimate they cost somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/last-night-we-had-three-small-zucchini-for-dinner-that-were-grown/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Sooner or later the world will have to return to the good old days when we fought wars and killed people the old-fashioned way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/sooner-or-later-the-world-will-have-to-return-to-the-good-old-days/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-ve-learned-that-no-matter-how-serious-your-life-requires-you-to-be/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Unfortunately, propaganda works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/unfortunately-propaganda-works/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [You're almost always better off keeping your mouth shut, but don't let that stop you from popping off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/you-re-almost-always-better-off-keeping-your-mouth-shut-but-don-t-let/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [The fastest thing computers do is go obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/the-fastest-thing-computers-do-is-go-obsolete/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Every one starts out being an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/every-one-starts-out-being-an-atheist/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [If you don't enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/if-you-don-t-enjoy-getting-up-and-working-and-finishing-your-work-and/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [As an old reporter, we have a few secrets, and the first thing is we try the phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/as-an-old-reporter-we-have-a-few-secrets-and-the-first-thing-is-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [I've learned... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-ve-learned-that-it-s-those-small-daily-happenings-that-make-life-so/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [... all of us talk faster than we listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/all-of-us-talk-faster-than-we-listen/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [You can't be a good writer without being a good thinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/you-can-t-be-a-good-writer-without-being-a-good-thinker/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [A great many people do not have the right to their own opinion because they don't know what they are talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/a-great-many-people-do-not-have-the-right-to-their-own-opinion/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) [Explore all 264 Andy Rooney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) ## More Accumulation quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/) [Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/) > [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I just wish this social institution [religion] wasnt based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of customs and myths directed toward proving something that isnt true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Rooney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasnt-based-on-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accumulation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasnt-based-on-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/andy-rooney-1253_accumulation_i-just-wish-this-social-institution-reli_2005880.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I just wish this social institution [religion] wasnt based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax…” — Andy Rooney", "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": "Andy Rooney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I just wish this social institution...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasnt-based-on-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasnt-based-on-what/#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 } } ] } ```