--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religious people should be very active if…" description: "\"Religious people should be very active if they believe that the world belongs to God, and politics is a very important part of the world, then they mus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/desmond-tutu-442_active_religious-people-should-be-very-active-i_2791097.jpg" --- # Religious people should be very active if they believe… ![“Religious people should be very active if they believe that the world belongs to God, and politics is a very important part of the world, then they must participate in political affairs because they are alive. And if they don't act neither as the leaven or the salt or the light, then things can go…” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/desmond-tutu-442_active_religious-people-should-be-very-active-i_2791097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/desmond-tutu-442_active_religious-people-should-be-very-active-i_2791097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/desmond-tutu-442_active_religious-people-should-be-very-active-i_2791097.jpg) > “Religious people should be very active if they believe that the world belongs to God, and politics is a very important part of the world, then they must participate in political affairs because they are alive. And if they don't act neither as the leaven or the salt or the light, then things can go horribly badly wrong.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Active religious engagement in politics is essential; passive believers risk negative outcomes. **In simple terms:** Faithful must act politically. Key Takeaway Participate actively in civic life. Themes civic duty faith activism Mood passionate urgent Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - public speaking Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can faith guide constructive politics? - What role should religion play in governance? A Different Perspective Political involvement can be divisive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [God Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-politics-1674796/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Participate Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participate-political-1126357/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-important-509428/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-people/) [Salt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salt/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Christians are to be salt and light in everything they do, be it in their church, in their business, in their school, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-turek/christians-are-to-be-salt-and-light-in-everything-they-do-be-it-in/) [Frank Turek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-turek/) > [When you bring God into politics, very strange things happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-curtis/when-you-bring-god-into-politics-very-strange-things-happen/) [Adam Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-curtis/) > [“Christians are easily ensnared by the coerciveness of other gods: Americanism, and the inherent legalism associated with it, being a good example. Where is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-heide/christians-are-easily-ensnared-by-the-coerciveness-of-other-gods/) [Gale Heide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-heide/) > [I am not a man who looks for solutions in God or politics. If somebody else wants to do the dirty work and create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-not-a-man-who-looks-for-solutions-in-god-or-politics-if-somebody/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [You have to have something in your life that's more important than the work. People don't really like to admit that. I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bacon/you-have-to-have-something-in-your-life-that-s-more-important-than/) [Kevin Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bacon/) > [We need policy change, and the most important thing people can do is to contribute and participate in the political process. We have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/we-need-policy-change-and-the-most-important-thing-people-can-do-is/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Architecture will always express the technical and social progress of the country in which it is carried out. If we wish to give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-niemeyer/architecture-will-always-express-the-technical-and-social-progress-of/) [Oscar Niemeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-niemeyer/) > [Making it harder for the most vulnerable voters to participate in the political process inevitably leads to policies and policymakers that do not represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-turner/making-it-harder-for-the-most-vulnerable-voters-to-participate-in-the/) [Nina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-turner/) > [I believe we all have the right as private citizens to endorse candidates and participate in the political process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/i-believe-we-all-have-the-right-as-private-citizens-to-endorse/) [Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/) > [You have educate the masses to exactly what their tax dollars are going to pay for. I think once people educate themselves and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/you-have-educate-the-masses-to-exactly-what-their-tax-dollars-are/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [We have a duty to our country to participate in the political process. See, if you believe in freedom, you have a duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-have-a-duty-to-our-country-to-participate-in-the-political-process/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I wanted to participate in the political responsibilities of an American citizen. I wanted to vote. I wanted to be a full member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/i-wanted-to-participate-in-the-political-responsibilities-of-an/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [Politics is too important to be left to politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-rudman/politics-is-too-important-to-be-left-to-politicians/) [Warren Rudman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-rudman/) > [Some people criticize the faithful for getting involved in politics, but it's important to remember that down through the centuries, people motivated by their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-wolf/some-people-criticize-the-faithful-for-getting-involved-in-politics/) [Frank Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-wolf/) > [I used to be of the opinion that it didn't matter who you voted for. The world balanced itself out and kept on truckin'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jefferies/i-used-to-be-of-the-opinion-that-it-didn-t-matter-who-you-voted-for/) [Jim Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jefferies/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [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/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. 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