---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would love to believe that when I die I…"
description: "\"I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue.\" — Carl Sagan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg"
---

#  I would love to believe that when I die I will live again…

![“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg)

> “I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue.”

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Belief in an afterlife where personal consciousness persists beyond death.

**In simple terms:** Hope that part of us lives on after death.

Key Takeaway

Consider how your actions shape lasting impact.

Themes

mortality continuity spirituality

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical spiritual

When to use this quote

- legacy planning
- ethical decisions
- comfort in grief

Key Concepts

afterlife consciousness memory

Questions to Reflect On

- What does continuity mean to you?
- How does this belief affect your daily choices?

A Different Perspective

No empirical evidence; belief varies by culture.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-die-647965/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Feeling Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-remembering-906955/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Freethinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freethinker/) [Pale blue dot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale-blue-dot/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Remembering Continue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering-continue-3208386/) [Subtle atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtle-atheist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-feeling/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/how-is-it-that-hardly-any-major-religion-has-looked-at-science-and/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken..."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-science-it-often-happens-that-scientists-say-you-know-that-s-a-2/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [No matter how hard you try to get over someone, you will still have some sort of feeling for them, remembering the ways things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/no-matter-how-hard-you-try-to-get-over-someone-you-will-still-have/)

[Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/)

> [I hate the feeling of not remembering someone who calls me with my nickname.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-the-feeling-of-not-remembering-someone-who-calls-me-with-my/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Memories separated in time are often recalled side by side-there's an emotional connection that has nothing to do with the diary dates and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/memories-separated-in-time-are-often-recalled-side-by-side-there-s-an/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [I wanted to preserve the feeling of remembering her just months after her death - the raw immediacy of it, so the drafts were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lisicky/i-wanted-to-preserve-the-feeling-of-remembering-her-just-months-after/)

[Paul Lisicky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lisicky/)

> [“Consider again that pale blue dot...imagine that you take a good long look at it, imagine that you are starring at it for any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/consider-again-that-pale-blue-dot-imagine-that-you-take-a-good-long/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-we-are-to-survive-our-loyalties-must-be-broadened-further-to/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/that-s-here-that-s-home-that-s-us-on-it-everyone-you-love-everyone/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Once we overcome our fear of being tiny, we find ourselves on the threshold of a vast and awesome Universe that utterly dwarfs —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/once-we-overcome-our-fear-of-being-tiny-we-find-ourselves-on-the/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“Ann Druyan suggests an experiment: Look back again at the pale blue dot of the preceding chapter. Take a good long look at it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/ann-druyan-suggests-an-experiment-look-back-again-at-the-pale-blue/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Our posturings, our imagined self-importance , the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe are challenged by this point of pale light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/our-posturings-our-imagined-self-importance-the-delusion-that-we-have-2/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“One consequence of this train of argument is that, even if civilizations commonly arise on planets throughout the Galaxy, few of them will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/one-consequence-of-this-train-of-argument-is-that-even-if/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-has-been-said-that-astronomy-is-a-humbling-and-character-building/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [It does no harm to the romance of the sunset to know a little bit about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-does-no-harm-to-the-romance-of-the-sunset-to-know-a-little-bit/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

## More by Carl Sagan

> [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

[Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

## More Atheism 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/)

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [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/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/)

[Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/)

> [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/)

[Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/)

> [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/)

[Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/)

> [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

[Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Carl Sagan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-3/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atheism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-3/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/carl-sagan-160_atheism_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_2766272.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of…” — Carl Sagan",
                "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": "Carl Sagan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I would love to believe that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-3/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die-i-will-live-again-that-some-3/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
