--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You were expected to believe in the State…" description: "\"“You were expected to believe in the State for the same reason you were expected to believe in God: fear. The bourgeoisie, despite its glamour and glit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/elif-shafak-1594_believe-in-god_you-were-expected-to-believe-in-the-stat_1326576.jpg" --- # You were expected to believe in the State for the same… ![“You were expected to believe in the State for the same reason you were expected to believe in God: fear. The bourgeoisie, despite its glamour and glitz, resembled a child afraid of its father –the eternal patriarch, the Baba. Amidst uncertainty, unlike their counterparts in Europe, the local…” quote by Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/elif-shafak-1594_believe-in-god_you-were-expected-to-believe-in-the-stat_1326576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/elif-shafak-1594_believe-in-god_you-were-expected-to-believe-in-the-stat_1326576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/elif-shafak-1594_believe-in-god_you-were-expected-to-believe-in-the-stat_1326576.jpg) > ““You were expected to believe in the State for the same reason you were expected to believe in God: fear. The bourgeoisie, despite its glamour and glitz, resembled a child afraid of its father –the eternal patriarch, the Baba. Amidst uncertainty, unlike their counterparts in Europe, the local bourgeoisie had neither audacity nor autonomy, neither tradition nor memory –squeezed between what they were expected to be and what they wished to be.”” [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how both state and religion demand belief through fear, likening the local bourgeoisie to a timid child dependent on authority, lacking confidence and heritage. **In simple terms:** Fear forces blind loyalty to power and faith; the bourgeoisie is powerless and uncertain. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek authentic identity. Themes power fear identity conformity authority Mood critical reflective analytical Type philosophical political social commentary When to use this quote - political activism - personal self‑reflection - cultural analysis - education - community organizing Key Concepts social control psychology postcolonial critique Questions to Reflect On - How does fear shape your loyalties? - What would a society look like without imposed fear? A Different Perspective It may overlook individuals who find genuine meaning in faith or state without fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-god/) [Bourgeoisie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bourgeoisie/) [Bourgeoisie Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bourgeoisie-despite-4437577/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Expected Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected-believe-2467125/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Bourgeoisie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-bourgeoisie-4437576/) [God Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-fear/) ## Related quotes > [“And he would never have instructed her to tell his past self such a story and expected himself to believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/and-he-would-never-have-instructed-her-to-tell-his-past-self-such-a/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [To whom much is given, much is expected. I do believe this. It's embedded in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/to-whom-much-is-given-much-is-expected-i-do-believe-this-it-s/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [“He honestly expected her to believe that she could make a bad offering and her ancestors wouldn't mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/he-honestly-expected-her-to-believe-that-she-could-make-a-bad/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“Through their word” he expected others to believe in him ( John 17:20), and these in turn to pass the word along to others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-coleman/through-their-word-he-expected-others-to-believe-in-him-john-17-20/) [Robert E. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-coleman/) > [“If you believe in GOD you should never fear death. If human fears death then hill be easily enslaved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadair-desmar/if-you-believe-in-god-you-should-never-fear-death-if-human-fears/) [Nadair Desmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadair-desmar/) > [“Love God more than you fear hell. Make major decisions in a cemetery. When no one is watching, live as if someone is. Succeed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/love-god-more-than-you-fear-hell-make-major-decisions-in-a-cemetery/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-remarkable-thing-about-god-is-that-when-you-fear-god-you-fear/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [He who fears God has nothing else to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-who-fears-god-has-nothing-else-to-fear/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [There is the fear that we shan't prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-is-the-fear-that-we-shan-t-prove-worthy-in-the-eyes-of-someone/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Outside of the will of god, there is nothing I want. 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We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us. 3.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-t-welch/1-we-fear-people-because-they-can-expose-and-humiliate-us-2-we-fear/) [Edward T. Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-t-welch/) > [Religion is the fear of God, and its demonstration good works; and faith is the root of both: For without faith we cannot please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/religion-is-the-fear-of-god-and-its-demonstration-good-works-and/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“You've made a god of your fear and jealousy, Sister. For what is a god but what we go to again and again?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-gohlke/you-ve-made-a-god-of-your-fear-and-jealousy-sister-for-what-is-a-god/) [Cathy Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-gohlke/) ## More by Elif Shafak > [“Od nje je naučio dvije osnovne stvari o ljubavi: prvo, da je, za razliku od onoga što romantici tako naduto tvrde, ljubav više postupan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/od-nje-je-nau-io-dvije-osnovne-stvari-o-ljubavi-prvo-da-je-za-razliku/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Why roots were rated so highly compared with branches or leaves, Peri had never understood. 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And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/there-are-things-so-awful-in-this-world-that-the-good-hearted-people/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Irrationality is part of everyday rationale”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/irrationality-is-part-of-everyday-rationale/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“In love, boundaries are blurred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/in-love-boundaries-are-blurred/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“It had just hit her why and how people could fall in love with Istanbul, in spite of all the sorrow it might cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/it-had-just-hit-her-why-and-how-people-could-fall-in-love-with/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Inside, I found three things: a silver mirror, a silk handkerchief, and a glass flask of ointment. 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Drinking, dancing, music, poetry, and painting”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/level-they-use-this-as-a-poor-excuse-to-disregard-the-rules-of-the/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“In many parts of the world you were what you said and what you did and, also, what you read; in Turkey, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/in-many-parts-of-the-world-you-were-what-you-said-and-what-you-did/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) [Explore all 180 Elif Shafak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) ## More Believe in god quotes > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. 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