--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ethical religion can be real only to…" description: "\"Ethical religion can be real only to those who are engaged in ceaseless efforts at moral improvement. By moving upward we acquire faith in an upward mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/felix-adler-10212_acquire_ethical-religion-can-be-real-only-to-tho_3205859.png" --- # Ethical religion can be real only to those who are engaged… ![“Ethical religion can be real only to those who are engaged in ceaseless efforts at moral improvement. By moving upward we acquire faith in an upward movement, without limit.” quote by Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/felix-adler-10212_acquire_ethical-religion-can-be-real-only-to-tho_3205859.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/felix-adler-10212_acquire_ethical-religion-can-be-real-only-to-tho_3205859.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/felix-adler-10212_acquire_ethical-religion-can-be-real-only-to-tho_3205859.png) > “Ethical religion can be real only to those who are engaged in ceaseless efforts at moral improvement. By moving upward we acquire faith in an upward movement, without limit.” [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral progress requires continual effort; faith grows as we strive upward without limits. **In simple terms:** Constant moral effort fuels faith. Key Takeaway Commit to ongoing ethical self‑improvement. Themes ethics faith self‑improvement Mood inspirational determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - community service - personal development Key Concepts spirituality humanism Questions to Reflect On - What daily practices sustain moral growth? - How do you balance aspiration with self‑compassion? A Different Perspective Perfection is unattainable; endless striving may cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Ethical religion affirms the continuity of progress toward moral perfection. It affirms that the spiritual development of the human race cannot be prematurely cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/ethical-religion-affirms-the-continuity-of-progress-toward-moral/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [“wanted to know how any ethical system—much less a religion so indomitable that it had survived every evil mankind could throw at it—could flow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/wanted-to-know-how-any-ethical-system-much-less-a-religion-so/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [God has so framed us as to make freedom of choice and action the very basis of all moral improvement, and all our faculties,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-matthews/god-has-so-framed-us-as-to-make-freedom-of-choice-and-action-the-very/) [William Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-matthews/) > [The moral improvement demands an evolution leading to a higher consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/the-moral-improvement-demands-an-evolution-leading-to-a-higher/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [I do not believe that God has created us under this dire necessity to toil, like beasts, to sustain life. I believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-do-not-believe-that-god-has-created-us-under-this-dire-necessity-to/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [Moral improvement (or perfecting) require an evolution leading to a higher consciousness, which is the true torch of life; it is what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/moral-improvement-or-perfecting-require-an-evolution-leading-to-a/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [Infinite toil would not enable you to sweep away a mist; but by ascending a little, you may often look over it altogether. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/infinite-toil-would-not-enable-you-to-sweep-away-a-mist-but-by/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [To attempt social reform, educational reform, industrial expansion, the moral improvement of the race without aiming, first and foremost, at political freedom is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/to-attempt-social-reform-educational-reform-industrial-expansion-the/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [We never reach our ideals, whether of mental or moral improvement, but the thought of them shows us our deficiencies, and spurs us on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/we-never-reach-our-ideals-whether-of-mental-or-moral-improvement-but/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [I chose not to jump into the media frenzy and defend myself, though I was begged to be on every single TV show in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-chose-not-to-jump-into-the-media-frenzy-and-defend-myself-though-i/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [The pioneers and missionaries of religion have been the real cause of more trouble and war than all other classes of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/the-pioneers-and-missionaries-of-religion-have-been-the-real-cause-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Whether Jewish or Christian, our religions have stressed too strongly the strictly historical aspect, so that we are, so to say, in worship of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/whether-jewish-or-christian-our-religions-have-stressed-too-strongly/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Art is not a substitute religion: it is a religion (in the true sense of the word: 'binding back', 'binding' to the unknowable, transcending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-is-not-a-substitute-religion-it-is-a-religion-in-the-true-sense/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/atheism-not-religion-is-the-real-force-behind-the-mass-murders-of/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Even though I have never had an abrupt conversion experience, religion has been real to me and closely knitted to life. In fact the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/even-though-i-have-never-had-an-abrupt-conversion-experience-religion/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Felix Adler > [Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each include the other, each is enriched by the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/love-is-the-expansion-of-two-natures-in-such-fashion-that-each/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/act-so-as-to-elicit-the-best-in-others-and-thereby-in-thyself/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [May the humanity that is within every human being be held precious. The vice that underlies all vices is that we are held cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/may-the-humanity-that-is-within-every-human-being-be-held-precious/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [It is the moral element contained in it that alone gives value and dignity to a religion, and only in so far as its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/it-is-the-moral-element-contained-in-it-that-alone-gives-value-and/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [It is written that the last enemy to be vanquished is death. We should begin early in life to vanquish this enemy by obliterating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/it-is-written-that-the-last-enemy-to-be-vanquished-is-death-we-should/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [The human race may be compared to a writer. At the outset a writer has often only a vague general notion of the plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/the-human-race-may-be-compared-to-a-writer-at-the-outset-a-writer-has/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [ “\[His research into biblical criticism had lead him to the conclusion that most of what was contained in traditional religion simply wasn't true\] Was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/his-research-into-biblical-criticism-had-lead-him-to-the-conclusion/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [We measure our enjoyments by the sum expended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/we-measure-our-enjoyments-by-the-sum-expended/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [An anxious unrest, a fierce craving desire for gain has taken possession of the commercial world, and in instances no longer rare the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/an-anxious-unrest-a-fierce-craving-desire-for-gain-has-taken/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [The conception of worth, that each person is an end per se, is not a mere abstraction. Our interest in it is not merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/the-conception-of-worth-that-each-person-is-an-end-per-se-is-not-a/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [Few are there that will leave the secure seclusion of the scholar's life, the peaceful walks of literature and learning, to stand out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/few-are-there-that-will-leave-the-secure-seclusion-of-the-scholar-s/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [The right for the right's sake is the motto which everyone should take for his own life. With that as a standard of value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/the-right-for-the-right-s-sake-is-the-motto-which-everyone-should/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [FOR a long time the conviction has been dimly felt in the community that, without prejudice to existing institutions, the legal day of weekly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/for-a-long-time-the-conviction-has-been-dimly-felt-in-the-community/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [Admitting the force of these contentions, nevertheless, the custom of meeting together in public assembly for the consideration of the most serious, the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/admitting-the-force-of-these-contentions-nevertheless-the-custom-of/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [The office of the public teacher is an unenviable and thankless one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/the-office-of-the-public-teacher-is-an-unenviable-and-thankless-one/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) [Explore all 67 Felix Adler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) ## More Acquire quotes > [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) Browse all 1,020 Acquire quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ethical religion can be real only to those who are engaged in ceaseless efforts at moral improvement. 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