--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I count religion but a childish toy, and…" description: "\"I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.\" — Christopher Marlowe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg" --- # I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no… ![“I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.” quote by Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg) > “I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.” [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is portrayed as a naive pastime; true error lies in ignorance rather than moral transgression. **In simple terms:** Religion is a childish game; ignorance is the real sin. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about faith and knowledge. Themes skepticism religion ignorance Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - personal belief - education - critical thinking Key Concepts humanism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Do you equate ignorance with sin? - How does this view affect moral responsibility? A Different Perspective Faith may provide comfort despite its irrationality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) ## Related quotes > [There is no sin but ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/there-is-no-sin-but-ignorance/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [We've had nine classes together since Kindergarten... ten if you count Religion of Other Cultures, which you didn't because you called it science fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/easy-a/we-ve-had-nine-classes-together-since-kindergarten-ten-if-you-count/) [Easy A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/easy-a/) > [“The sin of ignorance is the neglect of the Knowledge of salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-sin-of-ignorance-is-the-neglect-of-the-knowledge-of-salvation/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The world as it is is the world as God sees it, not as we see it. Our vision is distorted, not so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-as-it-is-is-the-world-as-god-sees-it-not-as-we-see-it-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We venture to make the assertion that there is but one sin: IGNORANCE, and but one salvation: APPLIED KNOWLEDGE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/we-venture-to-make-the-assertion-that-there-is-but-one-sin-ignorance/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [Never feel dumb. Not knowing who or what is no sin. Ignorance is simply the measure of what you haven't got to yet. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster-2/never-feel-dumb-not-knowing-who-or-what-is-no-sin-ignorance-is-simply/) [Thomas C Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster-2/) > [To me the thought of oneself as low and humble is a sin and ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-me-the-thought-of-oneself-as-low-and-humble-is-a-sin-and-ignorance/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/if-we-say-that-we-have-no-sin-we-deceive-ourselves-and-there-s-no/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“There is definitely a positive aspect of anger such as, anger at sin and anger at ungodliness or injustice of the society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-definitely-a-positive-aspect-of-anger-such-as-anger-at-sin/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [As priestcraft was always the enemy of knowledge, because priestcraft supports itself by keeping people in delusion and ignorance, it was consistent with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/as-priestcraft-was-always-the-enemy-of-knowledge-because-priestcraft/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Ignorance is the deepest sin of dark doom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/ignorance-is-the-deepest-sin-of-dark-doom/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [It is right that man should love those who have offended him. He will do so when he remembers that all men are his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/it-is-right-that-man-should-love-those-who-have-offended-him-he-will/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The only sin in the world is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-sin-in-the-world-is-ignorance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“To repent is depart from evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-repent-is-depart-from-evil/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Christopher Marlowe > [“O, thou art fairer than the evening air Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars; Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter When he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/o-thou-art-fairer-than-the-evening-air-clad-in-the-beauty-of-a/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“The mightiest kings have had their minions; Great Alexander loved Hephaestion, The conquering Hercules for Hylas wept; And for Patroclus, stern Achilles drooped. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/the-mightiest-kings-have-had-their-minions-great-alexander-loved/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“Till swollen with cunning, of a self-conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach, And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/till-swollen-with-cunning-of-a-self-conceit-his-waxen-wings-did-mount/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair-is-too-foul-an-epithet-for/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Accursed be he that first invented war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/accursed-be-he-that-first-invented-war/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [That perfect bliss and sole felicity, the sweet fruition of an earthly crown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/that-perfect-bliss-and-sole-felicity-the-sweet-fruition-of-an-earthly/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/if-we-say-that-we-have-no-sin-we-deceive-ourselves-and-there-s-no/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [O soul, be changed into little waterdrops, / And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/o-soul-be-changed-into-little-waterdrops-and-fall-into-the-ocean-ne/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Above our life we love a steadfast friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/above-our-life-we-love-a-steadfast-friend/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“In summers heate and mid-time of the day To rest my limbes upon a bed I lay, One window shut, the other open stood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/in-summers-heate-and-mid-time-of-the-day-to-rest-my-limbes-upon-a-bed/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“The sight of London to my exiled eyes Is as Elysium to a new-come soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/the-sight-of-london-to-my-exiled-eyes-is-as-elysium-to-a-new-come-soul/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“Quod Me Nutrit Me Destruit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/quod-me-nutrit-me-destruit/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [What are kings, when regiment is gone, but perfect shadows in a sunshine day?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/what-are-kings-when-regiment-is-gone-but-perfect-shadows-in-a/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Time doth run with calm and silent foot, Shortening my days and thread of vital life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/time-doth-run-with-calm-and-silent-foot-shortening-my-days-and-thread/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [“Come live with me and be my Love, And we will all the pleasures prove”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/come-live-with-me-and-be-my-love-and-we-will-all-the-pleasures-prove-2/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) [Explore all 129 Christopher Marlowe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [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/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Marlowe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and-hold-there-is-no-sin-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and-hold-there-is-no-sin-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/christopher-marlowe-3449_ignorance_i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and_1851755.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.” — Christopher Marlowe", "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": "Christopher Marlowe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I count religion but a childish...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and-hold-there-is-no-sin-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/i-count-religion-but-a-childish-toy-and-hold-there-is-no-sin-but/#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 } } ] } ```