--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These atheist cultures were certainly…" description: "\"These atheist cultures were certainly diligent in preserving the relics of their saints.\" — Elizabeth Kostova" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/elizabeth-kostova-6991_atheist_these-atheist-cultures-were-certainly-di_1799659.png" --- # These atheist cultures were certainly diligent in… ![“These atheist cultures were certainly diligent in preserving the relics of their saints.” quote by Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/elizabeth-kostova-6991_atheist_these-atheist-cultures-were-certainly-di_1799659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/elizabeth-kostova-6991_atheist_these-atheist-cultures-were-certainly-di_1799659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/elizabeth-kostova-6991_atheist_these-atheist-cultures-were-certainly-di_1799659.png) > “These atheist cultures were certainly diligent in preserving the relics of their saints.” [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even atheistic societies meticulously preserve relics, showing a universal human desire to honor the past. **In simple terms:** People keep holy objects even without belief. Key Takeaway Respect history regardless of belief. Themes culture heritage belief Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - museum curation - family heirlooms - archaeological digs Key Concepts relics tradition memory Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to physical symbols of the past? - How does reverence for relics shape identity? A Different Perspective Preservation may conflict with modern secular values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Relics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) ## Related quotes > [Shall we be destined to the days of eternity, on holy-days, as well as working-days, to be showing the relics of learning, as monks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/shall-we-be-destined-to-the-days-of-eternity-on-holy-days-as-well-as/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Probably all cultures, certainly Western culture, always have been violent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/probably-all-cultures-certainly-western-culture-always-have-been/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [One might just as well trust in the "good luck" of a rabbit's foot as to hope for spiritual benefit from a Catholic scapular,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hunt/one-might-just-as-well-trust-in-the-good-luck-of-a-rabbit-s-foot-as/) [Dave Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hunt/) > [ \[My advice\] will one day be found With other relics of 'a former world,' When this world shall be former, underground, Thrown topsy-turvy, twisted,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/my-advice-will-one-day-be-found-with-other-relics-of-a-former-world/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [ One \[idea\] was that the Universe started its life a finite time ago in a single huge explosion, and that the present expansion is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/one-idea-was-that-the-universe-started-its-life-a-finite-time-ago-in/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [By this action, the Government has proved that so long as it exists, none of us are truly free. 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The Earth was absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexey-leonov/the-earth-was-small-light-blue-and-so-touchingly-alone-our-home-that/) Alexey Leonov > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More by Elizabeth Kostova > [“These are works of history about your century, the twentieth. A fine century-I look forward to the rest of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/these-are-works-of-history-about-your-century-the-twentieth-a-fine/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Then he said a strange thing, but to himself. 'They lived, didn't they?' 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And then a lot of other people, usually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/we-gypsies-know-that-where-jews-are-killed-gypsies-are-always/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [I love to cook and I've cooked a lot of Bulgarian food over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-love-to-cook-and-i-ve-cooked-a-lot-of-bulgarian-food-over-the-years/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [If there is any good in life, in history, in my own past, I invoke it now. I invoke it with all the passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/if-there-is-any-good-in-life-in-history-in-my-own-past-i-invoke-it/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [What comes to your mind when you think of the word Transylvania, if you ponder it at all? 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Do a hundred drawings a day,' he said fiercely. 'And remember that it's a hellish life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/then-draw-everything-do-a-hundred-drawings-a-day-he-said-fiercely-and/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Doesn't every love express itself this way, with the seeds of both its flowering and its ruin in the very first words, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/doesn-t-every-love-express-itself-this-way-with-the-seeds-of-both-its/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [He brought his great hand to rest on an early edition of Bram Stoker's novel and smiled, but said nothing. Then he moved quietly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/he-brought-his-great-hand-to-rest-on-an-early-edition-of-bram-stoker/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Faith is simply whatever is real to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/faith-is-simply-whatever-is-real-to-us/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) [Explore all 92 Elizabeth Kostova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) ## More Atheist 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/) > [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/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. 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