--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In theory it is still possible to be an…" description: "\"“In theory it is still possible to be an orthodox religious believer without being intellectually crippled in the process.”\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg" --- # In theory it is still possible to be an orthodox religious… ![“In theory it is still possible to be an orthodox religious believer without being intellectually crippled in the process.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg) > ““In theory it is still possible to be an orthodox religious believer without being intellectually crippled in the process.”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that faith can coexist with critical thinking, rejecting the notion that religion inherently dulls intellect. **In simple terms:** Faith and reason can coexist. Key Takeaway Seek belief that challenges your mind. Themes faith reason intellectual freedom orthodoxy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal belief - academic study - interfaith dialogue - public policy Key Concepts critical thinking cognitive autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile faith with skepticism? - Can belief inspire intellectual growth? A Different Perspective Religious belief can still limit inquiry if not examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believer Intellectually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer-intellectually-6144189/) [Intellectually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectually/) [Orthodox Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox-religious-3355726/) [Possible Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-orthodox-6144190/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-believer-2260529/) ## Related quotes > [My grandfather was Orthodox, and he was religious, but neither of my parents were. Of course, as they got older, it seems like they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ian/my-grandfather-was-orthodox-and-he-was-religious-but-neither-of-my/) [Scott Ian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-ian/) > [“I'm not a religious believer, yet despite that I go to church. I love the architecture, the music, the words of the Bible, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/i-m-not-a-religious-believer-yet-despite-that-i-go-to-church-i-love/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [I have come to the conclusion that whether or not a person is a religious believer does not matter. Far more important is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-whether-or-not-a-person-is-a/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“There is, in fact, no worldview more reprehensible in its arrogance than that of a religious believer: the creator of the universe takes an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-in-fact-no-worldview-more-reprehensible-in-its-arrogance/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“I usually dumb down around the intellectually deficient so I don’t come off like a complete prick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/i-usually-dumb-down-around-the-intellectually-deficient-so-i-don-t/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [Being at the top of your game intellectually, philosophically, politically, is not a forever thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/being-at-the-top-of-your-game-intellectually-philosophically/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I'm lucky enough to have a kid with me who is actually really intellectually up with what's going on in the world and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/i-m-lucky-enough-to-have-a-kid-with-me-who-is-actually-really/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [“Me? Oh, intellectually I believe in having a good heart, a chirpy penis, a lively intelligence, and the courage to say ‘shit!’ in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/me-oh-intellectually-i-believe-in-having-a-good-heart-a-chirpy-penis/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [For those who struggle with anti-pagan prejudices and stereotypes, Humanist Paganism might be a powerful educational tool. It can show that a pagan can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/for-those-who-struggle-with-anti-pagan-prejudices-and-stereotypes/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [“Intellectually, they knew a great deal. Practically, they chose to know almost nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/intellectually-they-knew-a-great-deal-practically-they-chose-to-know/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“We have this extraordinary conceit in the West that while we've been hard at work in the creation of technological wizardry and innovation, somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wade-davis/we-have-this-extraordinary-conceit-in-the-west-that-while-we-ve-been/) [Edmund Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wade-davis/) > [I had spend a lot of time looking at things intellectually, coming from the head, let's say, rather than the heart, and saying things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gord-downie/i-had-spend-a-lot-of-time-looking-at-things-intellectually-coming/) [Gord Downie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gord-downie/) > [What's frustrating to me is when, on a low-budget movie, people don't take chances. A big-budget movie, that script's your bible; nobody's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/what-s-frustrating-to-me-is-when-on-a-low-budget-movie-people-don-t/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [It is intellectually dishonest to lump venture investors with hedge fund and buy-out investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ferreira/it-is-intellectually-dishonest-to-lump-venture-investors-with-hedge/) [Jose Ferreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ferreira/) > [I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-often-feel-intellectually-frustrated-when-i-m-in-a-position-where-i/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Intellectually quotes > [I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-often-feel-intellectually-frustrated-when-i-m-in-a-position-where-i/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [It is intellectually dishonest to lump venture investors with hedge fund and buy-out investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ferreira/it-is-intellectually-dishonest-to-lump-venture-investors-with-hedge/) [Jose Ferreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ferreira/) > [What's frustrating to me is when, on a low-budget movie, people don't take chances. A big-budget movie, that script's your bible; nobody's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/what-s-frustrating-to-me-is-when-on-a-low-budget-movie-people-don-t/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [I had spend a lot of time looking at things intellectually, coming from the head, let's say, rather than the heart, and saying things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gord-downie/i-had-spend-a-lot-of-time-looking-at-things-intellectually-coming/) [Gord Downie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gord-downie/) > [“We have this extraordinary conceit in the West that while we've been hard at work in the creation of technological wizardry and innovation, somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wade-davis/we-have-this-extraordinary-conceit-in-the-west-that-while-we-ve-been/) [Edmund Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wade-davis/) > [“Intellectually, they knew a great deal. Practically, they chose to know almost nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/intellectually-they-knew-a-great-deal-practically-they-chose-to-know/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [For those who struggle with anti-pagan prejudices and stereotypes, Humanist Paganism might be a powerful educational tool. It can show that a pagan can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/for-those-who-struggle-with-anti-pagan-prejudices-and-stereotypes/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [“Me? Oh, intellectually I believe in having a good heart, a chirpy penis, a lively intelligence, and the courage to say ‘shit!’ in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/me-oh-intellectually-i-believe-in-having-a-good-heart-a-chirpy-penis/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I'm lucky enough to have a kid with me who is actually really intellectually up with what's going on in the world and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/i-m-lucky-enough-to-have-a-kid-with-me-who-is-actually-really/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [Being at the top of your game intellectually, philosophically, politically, is not a forever thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/being-at-the-top-of-your-game-intellectually-philosophically/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“I usually dumb down around the intellectually deficient so I don’t come off like a complete prick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/i-usually-dumb-down-around-the-intellectually-deficient-so-i-don-t/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [I've known Dennis Kucinich for a long time, and I don't think I have illusions about him. Sometimes I find him pompous, male chauvinistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-ve-known-dennis-kucinich-for-a-long-time-and-i-don-t-think-i-have/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Every minute of every day, we should be challenging ourselves to grow intellectually and to stay curious about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/every-minute-of-every-day-we-should-be-challenging-ourselves-to-grow/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) > [How am I immature? Intellectually, emotionally, and sexually. Yeah, but in what other ways?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/how-am-i-immature-intellectually-emotionally-and-sexually-yeah-but-in/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [It is only the intellectually lost who ever argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-only-the-intellectually-lost-who-ever-argue/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Browse all 145 Intellectually quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectually/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In theory it is still possible to be an orthodox religious believer without being intellectually crippled in the process.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an-orthodox-religious-believer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Intellectually" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an-orthodox-religious-believer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/george-orwell-57_intellectually_in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an_802879.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In theory it is still possible to be an orthodox religious believer without being intellectually crippled in…” — George Orwell", "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": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In theory it is still possible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an-orthodox-religious-believer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-theory-it-is-still-possible-to-be-an-orthodox-religious-believer/#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 } } ] } ```