---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is anything that the ACLU hates…"
description: "\"If there is anything that the ACLU hates more than censorship, it is any form of public religious expression.\" — F. LaGard Smith"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/f-lagard-smith-60428_censorship_if-there-is-anything-that-the-aclu-hates_2376827.jpg"
---

#  If there is anything that the ACLU hates more than…

![“If there is anything that the ACLU hates more than censorship, it is any form of public religious expression.” quote by F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/f-lagard-smith-60428_censorship_if-there-is-anything-that-the-aclu-hates_2376827.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/f-lagard-smith-60428_censorship_if-there-is-anything-that-the-aclu-hates_2376827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/f-lagard-smith-60428_censorship_if-there-is-anything-that-the-aclu-hates_2376827.jpg)

> “If there is anything that the ACLU hates more than censorship, it is any form of public religious expression.”

[F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The ACLU opposes censorship and also resists public religious expression.

**In simple terms:** They dislike both censorship and public religion.

Key Takeaway

Balance free speech with secular concerns.

Themes

law free speech religion censorship civil rights

Mood

critical legal

Type

constitutional ethical

When to use this quote

- court cases
- legislative debates
- public forums
- media regulation

Key Concepts

constitutional law public policy

Questions to Reflect On

- How should public spaces handle religion?
- What limits protect both speech and secularism?

A Different Perspective

May overlook religious minority rights.

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[Aclu Hates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aclu-hates-5873499/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hates Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hates-censorship-5873500/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Public Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-religious-5873501/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-expression-1503746/)

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> [“The ethical expression for what Abraham did is that he meant to murder Isaac; the religious expression is that he meant to sacrifice Isaac—but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/the-ethical-expression-for-what-abraham-did-is-that-he-meant-to/)

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> [In Scotland, Catholics have raised their voices against sectarianism and intolerance directed against the Church. Clearly, these actions show that freedom of religious expression,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-o-brien/in-scotland-catholics-have-raised-their-voices-against-sectarianism/)

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[Charles Sheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheeler/)

> [Our tolerance for forms of religious expression we disagree with is a precise barometer of our own spiritual security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/our-tolerance-for-forms-of-religious-expression-we-disagree-with-is-a/)

[Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/)

> [“Any religious expression of truth, however bizzare or uncouth, is more sufficing than any secular one, however elegant and intellectually brilliant. Animistic savages prostrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/any-religious-expression-of-truth-however-bizzare-or-uncouth-is-more/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [The adoration of the sun was one of the earliest and most natural forms of religious expression. Complex modern theologies are merely involvements and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manly-hall/the-adoration-of-the-sun-was-one-of-the-earliest-and-most-natural/)

[Manly Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manly-hall/)

> [All religious expression is symbolism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/all-religious-expression-is-symbolism/)

[Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/)

> [It appears that some school officials, teachers, and parents have assumed that religious expression of any type is either inappropriate or forbidden altogether in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-appears-that-some-school-officials-teachers-and-parents-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [With each passing year, people of faith grow increasingly distressed by the hostility of public institutions toward religious expression. We have witnessed the steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-e-reed-jr/with-each-passing-year-people-of-faith-grow-increasingly-distressed/)

[Ralph E. Reed, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-e-reed-jr/)

> [Religious expression must at least be afforded an equal playing field. Currently, the playing field is not level. Religious expression and practices are treated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathew-staver/religious-expression-must-at-least-be-afforded-an-equal-playing-field/)

[Mathew Staver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathew-staver/)

> [Somehow freedom for religious expression has become freedom from religious expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/somehow-freedom-for-religious-expression-has-become-freedom-from/)

[Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/)

> [ “\[T\]he religious expression is: Man is the image of God, or a being akin to God; - for according to religion man does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/t-he-religious-expression-is-man-is-the-image-of-god-or-a-being-akin/)

[Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/)

> [Depictions or expressions of sex, violence, crime are all permitted virtually without limit; but religion, it seems, never.No wonder many in America seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/depictions-or-expressions-of-sex-violence-crime-are-all-permitted/)

[John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/)

> [Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/any-test-that-turns-on-what-is-offensive-to-the-community-s-standards/)

[William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/)

## More by F. LaGard Smith

> [In our generation there is no agreed-upon framework. All issues are up for grabs. Morality no longer has any broad-based theology upon which to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lagard-smith/in-our-generation-there-is-no-agreed-upon-framework-all-issues-are-up/)

[F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/)

> [Thanks in large measure to the ACLU, the belief that there is a wall of separation between faith and state, not just church and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lagard-smith/thanks-in-large-measure-to-the-aclu-the-belief-that-there-is-a-wall/)

[F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/)

> [The ACLU is not just religiously neutral, but staunchly anti-religious. Particularly, anti-Christian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lagard-smith/the-aclu-is-not-just-religiously-neutral-but-staunchly-anti-religious/)

[F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/)

> [The ACLU's various policies regarding religious freedom in public schools are a revealing collection of anti-religious bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lagard-smith/the-aclu-s-various-policies-regarding-religious-freedom-in-public/)

[F. LaGard Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/)

[Explore all 5 F. LaGard Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lagard-smith/)

## More Censorship quotes

> [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/)

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> [I don't believe in censorship in any form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-don-t-believe-in-censorship-in-any-form/)

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> [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/)

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> [“The tendency to want what has been banned and therefore to presume that it is more worthwhile is not limited to such commodities as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/the-tendency-to-want-what-has-been-banned-and-therefore-to-presume/)

[Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/)

> [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In a feature film, the question of censorship always comes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/in-a-feature-film-the-question-of-censorship-always-comes-up/)

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[Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/)

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