--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Real religion should be something that…" description: "\"Real religion should be something that liberates men. But churches don't want free men who can think for themself and find their own divinity within. W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/federico-fellini-4845_atheism_real-religion-should-be-something-that-l_2544701.jpg" --- # Real religion should be something that liberates men. But… ![“Real religion should be something that liberates men. But churches don't want free men who can think for themself and find their own divinity within. When a religion becomes organized it is no longer a religious experience but only superstition and estrangement.” quote by Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/federico-fellini-4845_atheism_real-religion-should-be-something-that-l_2544701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/federico-fellini-4845_atheism_real-religion-should-be-something-that-l_2544701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/federico-fellini-4845_atheism_real-religion-should-be-something-that-l_2544701.jpg) > “Real religion should be something that liberates men. But churches don't want free men who can think for themself and find their own divinity within. When a religion becomes organized it is no longer a religious experience but only superstition and estrangement.” [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Organized religion can become rigid, limiting personal spiritual freedom and critical thought. **In simple terms:** Religion should free, not confine. Key Takeaway Seek personal spiritual autonomy. Themes spirituality freedom institutional critique Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - community worship - political activism - education reform Key Concepts existentialism critical theory Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your spirituality is constrained? - What balance between community and individual belief works for you? A Different Perspective Institutional structures can also provide community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Estrangement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estrangement/) [Free man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-man/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Churches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-churches-1464897/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-religion-330344/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Liberates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-liberates-1464896/) [Religion Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-organized-640236/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-experience/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Women are to maintain submission to men in all churches in all times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/women-are-to-maintain-submission-to-men-in-all-churches-in-all-times/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [“Religion carries two sorts of people in two entirely opposite directions: the mild and gentle people it carries towards mercy and justice; the persecuting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/religion-carries-two-sorts-of-people-in-two-entirely-opposite/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Religion is organized to satisfy and guide the soul -- politics does the same thing for the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/religion-is-organized-to-satisfy-and-guide-the-soul-politics-does-the/) [Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/) > [I have a lot of frustration with religion, organized religion, because it's man-made, because it's man-regulated. And it has nothing to do with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/i-have-a-lot-of-frustration-with-religion-organized-religion-because/) [Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/) > [Formal religion was organized for slaves: it offered them consolation which earth did not provide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/formal-religion-was-organized-for-slaves-it-offered-them-consolation/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“That is the idea -- that we should all be wicked if we did not hold to the Christian religion. It seems to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-is-the-idea-that-we-should-all-be-wicked-if-we-did-not-hold-to/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I usually lump organized religion, organized labor, and organized crime together. The Mafia gets points for having the best restaurants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-beard/i-usually-lump-organized-religion-organized-labor-and-organized-crime/) [Dave Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-beard/) > [I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its Churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-say-quite-deliberately-that-the-christian-religion-as-organized-in/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Religion is a more or less organized way of remembering that every ministry points to a higher reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/religion-is-a-more-or-less-organized-way-of-remembering-that-every/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [I think there's been a big problem between religion, or organized religion, and spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-davies/i-think-there-s-been-a-big-problem-between-religion-or-organized/) [Dave Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-davies/) > [You find as you look around the world that every single bit of progress in humane feeling, every improvement in the criminal law, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/you-find-as-you-look-around-the-world-that-every-single-bit-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is some danger lest there be no real religion in the heart which craves too much daily sympathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/there-is-some-danger-lest-there-be-no-real-religion-in-the-heart/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [A priest once quoted to me the Roman saying that a religion is dead when the priests laugh at each other across the altar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-priest-once-quoted-to-me-the-roman-saying-that-a-religion-is-dead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Perhaps the greatest lesson \[Huxley\] learned from reading Carlyle was that real religion, that emotive feeling for Truth and Beauty, could flourish in the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-desmond/perhaps-the-greatest-lesson-huxley-learned-from-reading-carlyle-was/) [Adrian Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-desmond/) > [Real religion is about, developing real character; character of compassion, character of humility, the character of determination to grow in all circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/real-religion-is-about-developing-real-character-character-of/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) ## More by Federico Fellini > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Even if I set out to make a film about a fillet of sole, it would be about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-if-i-set-out-to-make-a-film-about-a-fillet-of-sole-it-would-be/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/when-work-commitment-and-pleasure-all-become-one-and-you-reach-that/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [As a writer and director, I want to know what is behind the good manners and soft voice. Who is inside the silhouette?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/as-a-writer-and-director-i-want-to-know-what-is-behind-the-good/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Don't forget that costumes, like dreams, are symbolic communication. Dreams teach us that a language for everything exists - for every object, every color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/don-t-forget-that-costumes-like-dreams-are-symbolic-communication/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [It is only when I am doing my work that I feel truly alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/it-is-only-when-i-am-doing-my-work-that-i-feel-truly-alive/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [We must get beyond passions, like a great work of art. In such miraculous harmony. We should learn to love each other so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/we-must-get-beyond-passions-like-a-great-work-of-art-in-such/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [We can all pretend to be cynical and scheming, but when we’re faced with purity and innocence, the cynical mask drops off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/we-can-all-pretend-to-be-cynical-and-scheming-but-when-we-re-faced/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [The public has lost the habit of movie-going because the cinema no longer possesses the charm, the hypnotic charisma, the authority it once commanded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/the-public-has-lost-the-habit-of-movie-going-because-the-cinema-no/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Everyone knows that time is Death, that Death hides in clocks. Imposing another time powered by the Clock of the Imagination, however, can refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/everyone-knows-that-time-is-death-that-death-hides-in-clocks-imposing/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [Our duty as storytellers is to bring people to the station. There each person will choose his or her own train...But we must at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/our-duty-as-storytellers-is-to-bring-people-to-the-station-there-each/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [What's important is the way we say it. Art is all about craftsmanship. Others can interpret craftsmanship as style if they wish. Style is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/what-s-important-is-the-way-we-say-it-art-is-all-about-craftsmanship/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/there-is-no-end-there-is-no-beginning-there-is-only-the-passion-of/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My work has always been the thing that justifies my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-work-has-always-been-the-thing-that-justifies-my-life/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My relationship with my body has changed. I used to consider it as a servant who should obey, function, give pleasure. In sickness, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-relationship-with-my-body-has-changed-i-used-to-consider-it-as-a/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) [Explore all 104 Federico Fellini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## More Atheism 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/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [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/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Real religion should be something that liberates men. But churches don't want free men who can think for themself and find their own divinity within. 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