--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hate churches, all of them. But they…" description: "\"I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know something about the importance of silence.\" — Ferdinand Mount" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png" --- # I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know… ![“I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know something about the importance of silence.” quote by Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png) > “I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know something about the importance of silence.” [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker criticizes churches while acknowledging they once valued silence, suggesting a loss of reverence for quiet contemplation. **In simple terms:** Churches are criticized but once respected silence. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of silence regardless of institution. Themes criticism silence spirituality Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - religious discourse - mindfulness practice Key Concepts cultural critique value of quiet Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate silence in daily life? - What does silence mean to you? A Different Perspective Silence can be found outside religious settings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Churches Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churches-used-4255303/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hate Churches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-churches-4598024/) [I hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-hate/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Importance Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance-silence-4598025/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [“In the churches I used to go to, I felt like I didn't fit in... I was accepted but not understood. There was room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/in-the-churches-i-used-to-go-to-i-felt-like-i-didn-t-fit-in-i-was/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Even in the most beautiful music, there are some silences, which are there so we can witness the importance of silence. Silence is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/even-in-the-most-beautiful-music-there-are-some-silences-which-are-2/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [Buddhada was a man of few words. You can see the importance of silence in his cinema. There are long stretches of no dialogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sameera-reddy/buddhada-was-a-man-of-few-words-you-can-see-the-importance-of-silence/) [Sameera Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sameera-reddy/) > [Its better to be quite when your words are not given importance, as silence does speak...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/its-better-to-be-quite-when-your-words-are-not-given-importance-as/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Even in the most beautiful music there are some silences, which are there so we can witness the importance of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/even-in-the-most-beautiful-music-there-are-some-silences-which-are/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [Sometimes I hate the job that I do as an actor. I feel like I'm just of no importance in the world, but sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/sometimes-i-hate-the-job-that-i-do-as-an-actor-i-feel-like-i-m-just/) [Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [ Sexy for me is a curvy woman - doesn't have to be skinny, which I hate anyway. I'm glad \[the fashion industry\] is changing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/sexy-for-me-is-a-curvy-woman-doesn-t-have-to-be-skinny-which-i-hate/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Babbo's menu is only four pages, but it's overwhelming - there are 20 different pastas in there, a lot of stuff. There is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bastianich/babbo-s-menu-is-only-four-pages-but-it-s-overwhelming-there-are-20/) [Joe Bastianich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bastianich/) > [I hate acting when I see it. I don't want to feel it, I don't want to see it, I want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-hate-acting-when-i-see-it-i-don-t-want-to-feel-it-i-don-t-want-to/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [I hate and I love, and who can tell me why?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/i-hate-and-i-love-and-who-can-tell-me-why/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [I'm a bit of a Luddite and I hate the internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-gallacher/i-m-a-bit-of-a-luddite-and-i-hate-the-internet/) [Kirsty Gallacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-gallacher/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Don't incriminate yourself. You got the Twitter. I hate twitter. It should be some exclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-price/don-t-incriminate-yourself-you-got-the-twitter-i-hate-twitter-it/) [Sean Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-price/) ## More by Ferdinand Mount > [For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells out so vividly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense-america-is-still-the-last/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [We want a system that will improve consistency and steadiness in the quality of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-want-a-system-that-will-improve-consistency-and-steadiness-in-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [It's true that I'm taking a break from writing a regular column to do other things but it's got nothing to do with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/it-s-true-that-i-m-taking-a-break-from-writing-a-regular-column-to-do/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [America slept because most Americans preferred it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/america-slept-because-most-americans-preferred-it-that-way/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [All the research shows that being married, with all its ups and downs, is by far the most effective way of making young men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/all-the-research-shows-that-being-married-with-all-its-ups-and-downs/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [The president is being denounced for not taking the kind of pre-emptive action in Afghanistan that he has been so passionately denounced for taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/the-president-is-being-denounced-for-not-taking-the-kind-of-pre/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Something is happening to Britain and the British. Or has happened. We are said to be passing through a transition, or a turning point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/something-is-happening-to-britain-and-the-british-or-has-happened-we/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/a-majority-in-all-parties-do-i-think-want-to-see-local-government/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Sexual relations, of course, have existed, exist, and will exist. However, this is in no way connected with the indispensability of the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/sexual-relations-of-course-have-existed-exist-and-will-exist-however/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [We are also further than ever from equality of opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-are-also-further-than-ever-from-equality-of-opportunity/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [In real terms, there is a greater disparity of earnings between the very rich and the very poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/in-real-terms-there-is-a-greater-disparity-of-earnings-between-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [According to Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism chief, Bush was so obsessed with Iraq that he failed to take action against Osama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/according-to-richard-clarke-the-former-white-house-counterterrorism/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [If life was what you made of it, then it could not be made for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/if-life-was-what-you-made-of-it-then-it-could-not-be-made-for-you/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Francis Wheen takes a hugely enjoyable sweep through the tangled thickets of superstition and gullibility in which modern man likes to ramble. He takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/francis-wheen-takes-a-hugely-enjoyable-sweep-through-the-tangled/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Defenders of the status quo will argue that this system has served us well over the centuries, that our parliamentary traditions have combined stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/defenders-of-the-status-quo-will-argue-that-this-system-has-served-us/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) [Explore all 25 Ferdinand Mount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [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/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know something about the importance of silence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ferdinand Mount" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-used-to-know-something-about-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-used-to-know-something-about-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/ferdinand-mount-23911_church_i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-use_2162963.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know something about the importance of silence.” — Ferdinand Mount", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ferdinand Mount", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I hate churches, all of them....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-used-to-know-something-about-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-used-to-know-something-about-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```