--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I gave up Christianity at about 14. Came…" description: "\"I gave up Christianity at about 14. Came back to it when getting on for 30. Not an emotional conversion; almost purely philosophical. I didn't want to...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/c-s-lewis-2-132_christianity_i-gave-up-christianity-at-about-14-came_470084.png" --- # I gave up Christianity at about 14. Came back to it when… ![“I gave up Christianity at about 14. Came back to it when getting on for 30. Not an emotional conversion; almost purely philosophical. I didn't want to. I'm not in the least a religious type. I want to be let alone, to feel I'm my own master; but since the facts seemed to be just the opposite, I…” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/c-s-lewis-2-132_christianity_i-gave-up-christianity-at-about-14-came_470084.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/c-s-lewis-2-132_christianity_i-gave-up-christianity-at-about-14-came_470084.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/c-s-lewis-2-132_christianity_i-gave-up-christianity-at-about-14-came_470084.png) > “I gave up Christianity at about 14. Came back to it when getting on for 30. Not an emotional conversion; almost purely philosophical. I didn't want to. I'm not in the least a religious type. I want to be let alone, to feel I'm my own master; but since the facts seemed to be just the opposite, I had to give in.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He rejected religion for independence, but philosophical evidence led him back. **In simple terms:** Philosophical reasoning restored his faith. Key Takeaway Consider evidence before dismissing belief. Themes faith philosophy personal growth Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - academic study - personal reflection - debate - spiritual counseling Key Concepts existentialism rationalism Questions to Reflect On - What arguments most convinced you of a belief? - Can reason alone sustain faith? A Different Perspective Intellectual conversion may lack emotional depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversion/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) ## Related quotes > [I never gave up Christianity until I was forty years of age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-never-gave-up-christianity-until-i-was-forty-years-of-age/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I want to see religious instruction and sermons held in German in the mosques. The ideal, in my view, would be for imams to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/i-want-to-see-religious-instruction-and-sermons-held-in-german-in-the/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) > [“Just listen to Frederick Douglass, a nineteenth-century slave who taught himself how to read and write, as he expresses his view of how Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/just-listen-to-frederick-douglass-a-nineteenth-century-slave-who/) [Gregory A. 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You don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/i-don-t-want-to-be-religious-i-want-to-be-spiritual-anybody-can-be/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [Priests, ministers and rabbis are asking where the children are going. Slowly but surely, they're seeing that people are hungry for something beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/priests-ministers-and-rabbis-are-asking-where-the-children-are-going/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“I wish to declare with all earnestness that I do not want any religious ceremonies performed for me after my death. I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/i-wish-to-declare-with-all-earnestness-that-i-do-not-want-any/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [God doesn't want religious duty. He doesn't want a distracted, half-hearted, 'Fine, I'll read a chapter...now are You happy?' attitude. God wants His word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-doesn-t-want-religious-duty-he-doesn-t-want-a-distracted-half/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I don't want to see any religious people in public office because they're working for another boss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/i-don-t-want-to-see-any-religious-people-in-public-office-because/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [If conversion makes no improvements in a man's outward actions then I think his 'conversion' was largely imaginary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-conversion-makes-no-improvements-in-a-man-s-outward-actions-then-i/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/every-story-of-conversion-is-the-story-of-a-blessed-defeat/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I see no other conceivable strategy for the achievement of liberty than political action. Religious or philosophical conversion of each man and woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/i-see-no-other-conceivable-strategy-for-the-achievement-of-liberty/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Christianity quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. 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Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) [Browse all 14,385 Christianity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I gave up Christianity at about 14. Came back to it when getting on for 30. Not an emotional conversion; almost purely philosophical. I didn't want to. I'm not in the least a religious type. I want to be let alone, to feel I'm my own master; but since the facts seemed to be just the opposite, I had to give in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. 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