--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You should always take a religion at its…" description: "\"You should always take a religion at its best and not at its worst, from its highest teachings and not from the lowest practices of some of its adheren..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg" --- # You should always take a religion at its best and not at… ![“You should always take a religion at its best and not at its worst, from its highest teachings and not from the lowest practices of some of its adherents.” quote by Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg) > “You should always take a religion at its best and not at its worst, from its highest teachings and not from the lowest practices of some of its adherents.” [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion should be judged by its highest ideals, not the flawed actions of some followers. **In simple terms:** Judge religion by its best teachings. Key Takeaway Focus on core teachings, ignore bad examples. Themes religion ethics interpretation Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal belief - interfaith dialogue - community leadership Key Concepts spirituality moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate doctrine from human failure? - What core teachings guide your faith? A Different Perspective Bad practices can distort perception of true teachings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teachings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachings/) ## Related quotes > [A religion is not just a set of texts but the living beliefs and practices of its adherents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/a-religion-is-not-just-a-set-of-texts-but-the-living-beliefs-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“Religion is still the very best way to get someone to accept something unabashedly ridiculous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-doucette/religion-is-still-the-very-best-way-to-get-someone-to-accept/) [Gene Doucette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-doucette/) > [What good deed can government do for religion? The best deed of all: leave it free and unencumbered, burdened by neither enmity nor amity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-gaustad/what-good-deed-can-government-do-for-religion-the-best-deed-of-all/) [Edwin Gaustad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-gaustad/) > [Religion - religion, at best - at BEST - is like a lift in your shoe. If you need it for a while, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/religion-religion-at-best-at-best-is-like-a-lift-in-your-shoe-if-you/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [I think religion is best when it's reduced to a one hour television program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-campbell/i-think-religion-is-best-when-it-s-reduced-to-a-one-hour-television/) [Rob Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-campbell/) > […religion may be best be described as an emotion resting on a conviction of a harmony between ourselves and the universe at large.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-e-mctaggart/religion-may-be-best-be-described-as-an-emotion-resting-on-a/) J. M. E. McTaggart > [“Religion is best when it points beyond itself, like Isaiah or John the Baptist. It is worst when it gives you just enough of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/religion-is-best-when-it-points-beyond-itself-like-isaiah-or-john-the/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“There are many ways to scare people. Religion seems to be the best of these.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/there-are-many-ways-to-scare-people-religion-seems-to-be-the-best-of/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [“The best system of religion is that which best trains us to surrender unto the Supreme Lord. This is the basic principle underlying Bhagavad-gītā.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-system-of-religion-is-that-which-best-trains-us-to-surrender/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sir, no nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/sir-no-nation-has-ever-yet-existed-or-been-governed-without-religion/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Religion is the best antidote to the individualism of the consumer age. The idea that society can do without it flies in the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/religion-is-the-best-antidote-to-the-individualism-of-the-consumer/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The Christian religion is the best religion that has ever been given to man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-christian-religion-is-the-best-religion-that-has-ever-been-given/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The garb of religion is the best cloak for power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-garb-of-religion-is-the-best-cloak-for-power/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best government in the world, the best religion, the best traditions of any people, depend upon the good or evil of the men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/the-best-government-in-the-world-the-best-religion-the-best/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [In church I was told that if I so much as smoked a cigarette or tasted alcohol, I’d be damned in hell for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/in-church-i-was-told-that-if-i-so-much-as-smoked-a-cigarette-or/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) ## More by Annie Besant > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [The Self in you is the same as the Self Universal. Whatever powers are manifested throughout the world, those powers exist in germ, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/the-self-in-you-is-the-same-as-the-self-universal-whatever-powers-are/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [When we recognise that unity of all living things, then at once arises the question - how can we support this life of ours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/when-we-recognise-that-unity-of-all-living-things-then-at-once-arises/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [In morals, theosophy builds its teachings on the unity, seeing in each form the expression of a common life, and therefore the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/in-morals-theosophy-builds-its-teachings-on-the-unity-seeing-in-each/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Never yet has a God been defined in terms which were not palpably self-contradictory and absurd; never yet has a God been described so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/never-yet-has-a-god-been-defined-in-terms-which-were-not-palpably/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [After a study of some forty years and more of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect, none so scientific,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/after-a-study-of-some-forty-years-and-more-of-the-great-religions-of/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [The human body is constantly undergoing a process of decay and of reconstruction. First builded into the astral form in the womb of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/the-human-body-is-constantly-undergoing-a-process-of-decay-and-of/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Sun-worship and pure forms of nature-worship were, in their day, noble religions, highly allegorical but full of profound truth and knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/sun-worship-and-pure-forms-of-nature-worship-were-in-their-day-noble/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [A myth is far truer than a history, for a history only gives a story of the shadows, whereas a myth gives a story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/a-myth-is-far-truer-than-a-history-for-a-history-only-gives-a-story/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [There can be no wise politics without thought beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/there-can-be-no-wise-politics-without-thought-beforehand/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Every form, not being the whole, must, of necessity, be imperfect; less than the whole, it cannot be identical with the whole, and being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/every-form-not-being-the-whole-must-of-necessity-be-imperfect-less/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [The divine life is the spirit in everything that exists, from the atom to the archangel; the grain of dust could not be were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/the-divine-life-is-the-spirit-in-everything-that-exists-from-the-atom/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Debating clubs among boys are very useful, not only as affording pleasant meetings and interesting discussions, but also as serving for training grounds for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/debating-clubs-among-boys-are-very-useful-not-only-as-affording/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Morality is the Science of harmonious relations between intelligent beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/morality-is-the-science-of-harmonious-relations-between-intelligent/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [The orthodox believers in God are divided into two camps, one of which maintains that the existence of God is as demonstrable as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/the-orthodox-believers-in-god-are-divided-into-two-camps-one-of-which/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) [Explore all 146 Annie Besant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You should always take a religion at its best and not at its worst, from its highest teachings and not from the lowest practices of some of its adherents.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Besant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its-best-and-not-at-its-worst/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its-best-and-not-at-its-worst/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/annie-besant-2901_education_you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its_1791936.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You should always take a religion at its best and not at its worst, from its highest teachings and not from…” — Annie Besant", "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": "Annie Besant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You should always take a religion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its-best-and-not-at-its-worst/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/you-should-always-take-a-religion-at-its-best-and-not-at-its-worst/#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 } } ] } ```