---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When one gives up the Christian faith…"
description: "\"When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident. ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg"
---

#  When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right…

![“When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident. Christianity is a system, a whole view of things thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it, the faith in God, one breaks the…” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg)

> “When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident. Christianity is a system, a whole view of things thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it, the faith in God, one breaks the whole. It stands or falls with faith in God.”

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## About This Quote

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

Abandoning Christian faith removes its moral framework, leaving morality uncertain and dependent on belief.

**In simple terms:** Faith underpins Christian morality.

Key Takeaway

Consider moral foundations beyond faith.

Themes

faith morality philosophy existence

Mood

critical analytical

Type

philosophical theoretical

When to use this quote

- ethical decision making
- public policy
- personal values
- education curricula

Key Concepts

ethics ontology secularism

Questions to Reflect On

- What moral principles guide you without religion?
- Can societies agree on universal ethics?

A Different Perspective

Secular morality can be robust without faith.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-faith/) [Christian morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-morality/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Faith in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-in-god/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/)

## Related quotes

> [When one gives up Christian belief one thereby deprives oneself of the right to Christian morality. For the latter is absolutely not self-evident: one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-gives-up-christian-belief-one-thereby-deprives-oneself-of/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Differ though we might with Christianity's view of what precisely our souls need, it is hard to discredit the provocative underlying thesis, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/differ-though-we-might-with-christianity-s-view-of-what-precisely-our/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [ “. . . \[Nietzsche\] had the good manners to despise Christianity, in large part, for what it actually was--above all, for its devotion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/nietzsche-had-the-good-manners-to-despise-christianity-in-large-part/)

[David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/)

> [It is certain that the truth of the Christian faith becomes more evident the more the faith itself is known. Therefore, the doctrine should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/it-is-certain-that-the-truth-of-the-christian-faith-becomes-more/)

[John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/)

> [“The other approach, probably more widely appealing in contemporary Western culture, is so to fix on the painful circumstances of life that one gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-w-l-moberly/the-other-approach-probably-more-widely-appealing-in-contemporary/)

[R.W.L. Moberly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-w-l-moberly/)

> [The Christian faith from the beginning, is sacrifice the sacrifice of all freedom, all pride, all self-confidence of spirit, it is at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-christian-faith-from-the-beginning-is-sacrifice-the-sacrifice-of/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Doubt as sin. — Christianity has done its utmost to close the circle and declared even doubt to be sin. One is supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/doubt-as-sin-christianity-has-done-its-utmost-to-close-the-circle-and/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Christian morality prefers remorse to precede lust, and then lust not to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/christian-morality-prefers-remorse-to-precede-lust-and-then-lust-not/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [A strange fanaticism fills our time: the fanatical hatred of morality, especially of Christian morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-strange-fanaticism-fills-our-time-the-fanatical-hatred-of-morality/)

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

> [“it was much less dangerous for the disciples of Christ to neglect the observance of the moral duties, than to despise the censures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-was-much-less-dangerous-for-the-disciples-of-christ-to-neglect-the/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him (i.e. Jesus) by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/among-the-sayings-and-discourses-imputed-to-him-i-e-jesus-by-his/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Because Christian morality leaves animals out of account, they are at once outlawed in philosophical morals; they are mere 'things,' mere means to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/because-christian-morality-leaves-animals-out-of-account-they-are-at/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“By setting such strong, harsh dichotomies God taught Israel that any assimilation to pagan idolatry is intolerable. It was His way of preserving Israel’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/by-setting-such-strong-harsh-dichotomies-god-taught-israel-that-any/)

[William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/)

> [Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-carroll-of-carrollton/without-morals-a-republic-cannot-subsist-any-length-of-time-they/)

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

> [In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/in-vain-would-that-man-claim-the-tribute-of-patriotism-who-should/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

## More by Friedrich Nietzsche

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## More Break quotes

> [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/)

[Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/)

> [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/)

[Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/)

> [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/)

[Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/)

> [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/)

[Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/)

> [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/)

[Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/)

> [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/)

[Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/)

> [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/)

[Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/)

> [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/)

Peter Dunne

> [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/)

[Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/)

> [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/)

[Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/)

> [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/)

[Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/)

Browse all 8,188 Break quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident. Christianity is a system, a whole view of things thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it, the faith in God, one breaks the whole. It stands or falls with faith in God.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-one-pulls-the-right-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Break"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-one-pulls-the-right-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c81/friedrich-nietzsche-15_break_when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-on_2313421.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet…” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When one gives up the Christian...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-one-pulls-the-right-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-gives-up-the-christian-faith-one-pulls-the-right-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
