--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it seems obvious that both the religious…" description: "\"“it seems obvious that both the religious and the irreligious are capable of varying degrees of tolerance or intolerance, benevolence or malice, depend..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png" --- # it seems obvious that both the religious and the… ![“it seems obvious that both the religious and the irreligious are capable of varying degrees of tolerance or intolerance, benevolence or malice, depending on how they understand the moral implications of their beliefs.” quote by David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png) > ““it seems obvious that both the religious and the irreligious are capable of varying degrees of tolerance or intolerance, benevolence or malice, depending on how they understand the moral implications of their beliefs.”” [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tolerance and intolerance arise from how people interpret the moral weight of their beliefs, regardless of religious stance. **In simple terms:** Beliefs shape kindness or cruelty. Key Takeaway Reflect on how your beliefs affect your actions. Themes tolerance morality beliefs Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - political debate - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy ethics religion Questions to Reflect On - How do you judge others' moral choices? - Can belief be separated from behavior? A Different Perspective Assumes moral interpretations are always conscious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Irreligious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreligious/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) ## Related quotes > [The religious and irreligious are agreeing with each other almost all the time. Their rhetoric is the same, and their plans are the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-jennings/the-religious-and-irreligious-are-agreeing-with-each-other-almost-all/) [Christine Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-jennings/) > [“When the clergy addressed General Washington on his departure from the government, it was observed in their consultation that he had never on any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-clergy-addressed-general-washington-on-his-departure-from/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“But if they are shown to be, and are the works not of men but of God, why are the unbelievers so irreligious as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athanasius-of-alexandria/but-if-they-are-shown-to-be-and-are-the-works-not-of-men-but-of-god/) [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athanasius-of-alexandria/) > [I don't know a more irreligious attitude, one more utterly bankrupt of any human content, than one which permits childred to be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-berrigan/i-don-t-know-a-more-irreligious-attitude-one-more-utterly-bankrupt-of/) [Daniel Berrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-berrigan/) > [“One increasingly hears rumors of a reconciliation between science and religion. In major news magazines as well as at academic conferences, the claim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-carroll/one-increasingly-hears-rumors-of-a-reconciliation-between-science-and/) [Sean Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-carroll/) > [It is man who has fallen, not the beasts: that is the message even for the irreligious, and to some extent salvation can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-fuller/it-is-man-who-has-fallen-not-the-beasts-that-is-the-message-even-for/) [Roy Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-fuller/) > [There is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-more-irreligious-than-self-absorbed-religion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For one, thing, the media are dominated by the irreligious. So are universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-stark/for-one-thing-the-media-are-dominated-by-the-irreligious-so-are/) [Rodney Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-stark/) > [So far from science being irreligious, as many think, it is the neglect of science that is irreligious-it is the refusal to study the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/so-far-from-science-being-irreligious-as-many-think-it-is-the-neglect/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [A miserable politics awaits us when the irreligious rot flows downstream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/a-miserable-politics-awaits-us-when-the-irreligious-rot-flows/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) > [“I am not religious in any sense; in fact, I consider myself an atheist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanijan-chandrasekhar/i-am-not-religious-in-any-sense-in-fact-i-consider-myself-an-atheist/) Subrahmanijan Chandrasekhar > [The antitheist is quick to excoriate all religious belief by generically laying the blame at the door of all who claim to be religious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/the-antitheist-is-quick-to-excoriate-all-religious-belief-by/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“The basis of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. In other words, religion is the self-consciousness and self-feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-basis-of-irreligious-criticism-is-man-makes-religion-religion/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I"m often accused of being irreligious, and I suppose it's for this very reason. Whether it's Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/i-m-often-accused-of-being-irreligious-and-i-suppose-it-s-for-this/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [The Jews are irreligious, atheistic, immoral bunch of bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/the-jews-are-irreligious-atheistic-immoral-bunch-of-bastards/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) ## More by David Bentley Hart > [“What makes today’s popular atheism so depressing is neither its conceptual boorishness nor its self-righteousness but simply its cultural inevitability. It is the final,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/what-makes-today-s-popular-atheism-so-depressing-is-neither-its/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The claim that there cannot be an infinite regress of contingent ontological causes raises a truly difficult challenge to pure materialism; but to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-claim-that-there-cannot-be-an-infinite-regress-of-contingent/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The very notion of nature as a closed system entirely sufficient to itself is plainly one that cannot be verified, deductively or empirically, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-very-notion-of-nature-as-a-closed-system-entirely-sufficient-to/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“naturalism, alone among all considered philosophical attempts to describe the shape of reality, is radically insufficient in its explanatory range.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/naturalism-alone-among-all-considered-philosophical-attempts-to/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [Christianity has from its beginning portrayed itself as a gospel of peace, a way of reconciliation (with God, with other creatures), and a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/christianity-has-from-its-beginning-portrayed-itself-as-a-gospel-of/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“clarity is a precious thing, to the degree it can be achieved, if only because it can spare us the effort of needless boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/clarity-is-a-precious-thing-to-the-degree-it-can-be-achieved-if-only/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [Empiricism in the sciences is a method; naturalism in philosophy is a metaphysics; and the latter neither follows from nor underlies the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/empiricism-in-the-sciences-is-a-method-naturalism-in-philosophy-is-a/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“We trust, that is to say, that there is no substantial criterion by which to judge our choices that stands higher than the unquestioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/we-trust-that-is-to-say-that-there-is-no-substantial-criterion-by/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [For, after all, if it is from Christ that we are to learn how God relates himself to sin, suffering, evil, and death, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/for-after-all-if-it-is-from-christ-that-we-are-to-learn-how-god/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“All things are subject to time, moreover: they possess no complete identity in themselves, but are always in the process of becoming something else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/all-things-are-subject-to-time-moreover-they-possess-no-complete/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [true philosophical atheism must be regarded as a superstition, often nurtured by an infantile wish to live in a world proportionate to one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/true-philosophical-atheism-must-be-regarded-as-a-superstition-often/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“It goes without saying that one generally should not try to dissolve disparate creeds into one another, much less into some vague, syncretistic, doctrinally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-goes-without-saying-that-one-generally-should-not-try-to-dissolve/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [God's pleasure--the beauty creation possesses in his regard--underlies the distinct being of creation, and so beauty is the first and truest word concerning all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/god-s-pleasure-the-beauty-creation-possesses-in-his-regard-underlies/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The general argument from the contingent to the absolute, or from the conditioned to the unconditioned, is a powerful and cogent one. No attempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-general-argument-from-the-contingent-to-the-absolute-or-from-the/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“Simply said, one is contingent through and through, partaking of being rather than generating it out of some source within oneself; and the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/simply-said-one-is-contingent-through-and-through-partaking-of-being/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) [Explore all 107 David Bentley Hart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## More Irreligious quotes > [“When the clergy addressed General Washington on his departure from the government, it was observed in their consultation that he had never on any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-clergy-addressed-general-washington-on-his-departure-from/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I"m often accused of being irreligious, and I suppose it's for this very reason. Whether it's Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/i-m-often-accused-of-being-irreligious-and-i-suppose-it-s-for-this/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [The religious and irreligious are agreeing with each other almost all the time. Their rhetoric is the same, and their plans are the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-jennings/the-religious-and-irreligious-are-agreeing-with-each-other-almost-all/) [Christine Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-jennings/) > [“The basis of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. In other words, religion is the self-consciousness and self-feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-basis-of-irreligious-criticism-is-man-makes-religion-religion/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The antitheist is quick to excoriate all religious belief by generically laying the blame at the door of all who claim to be religious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/the-antitheist-is-quick-to-excoriate-all-religious-belief-by/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“I am not religious in any sense; in fact, I consider myself an atheist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanijan-chandrasekhar/i-am-not-religious-in-any-sense-in-fact-i-consider-myself-an-atheist/) Subrahmanijan Chandrasekhar > [A miserable politics awaits us when the irreligious rot flows downstream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/a-miserable-politics-awaits-us-when-the-irreligious-rot-flows/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) > [So far from science being irreligious, as many think, it is the neglect of science that is irreligious-it is the refusal to study the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/so-far-from-science-being-irreligious-as-many-think-it-is-the-neglect/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [For one, thing, the media are dominated by the irreligious. So are universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-stark/for-one-thing-the-media-are-dominated-by-the-irreligious-so-are/) [Rodney Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-stark/) > [There is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-more-irreligious-than-self-absorbed-religion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is man who has fallen, not the beasts: that is the message even for the irreligious, and to some extent salvation can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-fuller/it-is-man-who-has-fallen-not-the-beasts-that-is-the-message-even-for/) [Roy Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-fuller/) > [“One increasingly hears rumors of a reconciliation between science and religion. In major news magazines as well as at academic conferences, the claim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-carroll/one-increasingly-hears-rumors-of-a-reconciliation-between-science-and/) [Sean Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-carroll/) > [I don't know a more irreligious attitude, one more utterly bankrupt of any human content, than one which permits childred to be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-berrigan/i-don-t-know-a-more-irreligious-attitude-one-more-utterly-bankrupt-of/) [Daniel Berrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-berrigan/) > [“But if they are shown to be, and are the works not of men but of God, why are the unbelievers so irreligious as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athanasius-of-alexandria/but-if-they-are-shown-to-be-and-are-the-works-not-of-men-but-of-god/) [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athanasius-of-alexandria/) > [The Jews are irreligious, atheistic, immoral bunch of bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/the-jews-are-irreligious-atheistic-immoral-bunch-of-bastards/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) [Browse all 26 Irreligious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreligious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“it seems obvious that both the religious and the irreligious are capable of varying degrees of tolerance or intolerance, benevolence or malice, depending on how they understand the moral implications of their beliefs.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bentley Hart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious-and-the-irreligious-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Irreligious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious-and-the-irreligious-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/david-bentley-hart-4691_irreligious_it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious_2800832.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“it seems obvious that both the religious and the irreligious are capable of varying degrees of tolerance or…” — David Bentley Hart", "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": "David Bentley Hart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“it seems obvious that both the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious-and-the-irreligious-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-seems-obvious-that-both-the-religious-and-the-irreligious-are/#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 } } ] } ```