--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Authentic religion teaches one to imagine…" description: "\"“Authentic religion teaches one to imagine the other -- to consider another's vulnerability and humanity. The beginning of ethics is this trancendent i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/gustav-niebuhr-37990_ethics_authentic-religion-teaches-one-to-imagin_3095784.jpg" --- # Authentic religion teaches one to imagine the other -- to… ![“Authentic religion teaches one to imagine the other -- to consider another's vulnerability and humanity. The beginning of ethics is this trancendent imagination' (Ingrid Mattson). The message, she said, to be expounded by preacher and politician alike is that all human beings possess a God-given…” quote by Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/gustav-niebuhr-37990_ethics_authentic-religion-teaches-one-to-imagin_3095784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/gustav-niebuhr-37990_ethics_authentic-religion-teaches-one-to-imagin_3095784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/gustav-niebuhr-37990_ethics_authentic-religion-teaches-one-to-imagin_3095784.jpg) > ““Authentic religion teaches one to imagine the other -- to consider another's vulnerability and humanity. The beginning of ethics is this trancendent imagination' (Ingrid Mattson). The message, she said, to be expounded by preacher and politician alike is that all human beings possess a God-given dignity.”” [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True religion encourages imagining others' vulnerability, forming the basis of ethics and recognizing inherent human dignity. **In simple terms:** Religion fosters empathy and dignity. Key Takeaway Practice imaginative empathy. Themes ethics religion humanity imagination dignity Mood compassionate inspirational Type theological ethical When to use this quote - interfaith dialogues - community service - policy debates - personal reflection Key Concepts transcendent imagination theological ethics human rights Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to imagine another's vulnerability? - How can this imagination shape public policy? A Different Perspective Imagination can be limited by cultural bias, reducing universal application. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authentic Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic-religion-873363/) [Beginning Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-ethics-5343856/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Ethics Trancendent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics-trancendent-5343855/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Teaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-teaches/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [The authentic religion teaches you to discover your immortality, to discover the god within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-authentic-religion-teaches-you-to-discover-your-immortality-to/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Authentic religion is not a theology test. It's a love test.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-thomas/authentic-religion-is-not-a-theology-test-it-s-a-love-test/) [Oliver Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-thomas/) > [My religion teaches me that whenever there is distress which one cannot remove, one must fast and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-religion-teaches-me-that-whenever-there-is-distress-which-one/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I am a Muslim, because it's a religion that teaches you an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It teaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-muslim-because-it-s-a-religion-that-teaches-you-an-eye-for-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Christian religion teaches us to imitate a God that is cruel, insidious, jealous, and implacable in his wrath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-christian-religion-teaches-us-to-imitate-a-god-that-is-cruel/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Our religion teaches that anger is a great sin, even if it is "righteous".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/our-religion-teaches-that-anger-is-a-great-sin-even-if-it-is-righteous/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [If you are very religious, and your religion teaches you that conception equals a baby, I don't know how I'm ever going to win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-winstead/if-you-are-very-religious-and-your-religion-teaches-you-that/) [Lizz Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-winstead/) > [All religion teaches the virtues of love, altruism and patience, while showing us how to discipline and transform ourselves to achieve inner peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-religion-teaches-the-virtues-of-love-altruism-and-patience-while/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [This religion teaches that 6,000 years ago God made the first man out of dust - not even mud - and the first woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-chilton-moore/this-religion-teaches-that-6-000-years-ago-god-made-the-first-man-out/) [Charles Chilton Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-chilton-moore/) > [The Christian religion teaches me two points-that there is a God whom men can know, and that their nature is so corrupt that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-christian-religion-teaches-me-two-points-that-there-is-a-god-whom/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [My religion teaches me that I should, by my personal conduct, instill into the minds of those who might hold different views the conviction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-religion-teaches-me-that-i-should-by-my-personal-conduct-instill/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Science teaches you to open your eyes and appreciate the reality around you. Religion teaches you to close your eyes and cling to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alan-harvey/science-teaches-you-to-open-your-eyes-and-appreciate-the-reality/) [David Alan Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alan-harvey/) > [A religion that teaches you God is something outside the world--something separate from everything you see, smell, taste, touch, and hear--is nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-religion-that-teaches-you-god-is-something-outside-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is nothing in our book, the Koran, that teaches us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/there-is-nothing-in-our-book-the-koran-that-teaches-us-to-suffer/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [In the end, religion teaches us to value truth, justice and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/in-the-end-religion-teaches-us-to-value-truth-justice-and-freedom/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## More by Gustav Niebuhr > [“Men and women believed and proclaimed God was firmly on their side – and easy and shallow assertion that reduced God to a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/men-and-women-believed-and-proclaimed-god-was-firmly-on-their-side/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“The terrorism has been a generation growing. It'll take a generation to knock it out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/the-terrorism-has-been-a-generation-growing-it-ll-take-a-generation/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“The criticism that I think is more telling is that the only way you are going to knock out this terrorism eventually is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/the-criticism-that-i-think-is-more-telling-is-that-the-only-way-you/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“The only alternative to talking is the building up of resentment and anger, which in the time must inevitably become open hostility and conflict.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/the-only-alternative-to-talking-is-the-building-up-of-resentment-and/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“I will be a better Catholic, not if I can refute every shade of Protestantism, but if I can affirm the truth in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/i-will-be-a-better-catholic-not-if-i-can-refute-every-shade-of/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“There can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/there-can-be-no-understanding-where-there-is-mutual-rejection/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“Absolutism, in both religious and political idealism, is a splendid incentive to heroic action, but a dangerous guide in immediate and concrete situations. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/absolutism-in-both-religious-and-political-idealism-is-a-splendid/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“...Dialogue is an activity that represents a state of relations going well beyond tolerance...You can coexist with people without ever having to speak meaningfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/dialogue-is-an-activity-that-represents-a-state-of-relations-going/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“To reach beyond tolerance is to open oneself to getting to know others, to appreciate their role in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/to-reach-beyond-tolerance-is-to-open-oneself-to-getting-to-know/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“If you are mindful, you can eat the bread and the bread represents the whole cosmos...You set the table, you lay the food in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/if-you-are-mindful-you-can-eat-the-bread-and-the-bread-represents-the/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [“The wars around the globe into which religion is woven -- violence that over the past two decades has sent many tens of thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/the-wars-around-the-globe-into-which-religion-is-woven-violence-that/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) [Explore all 12 Gustav Niebuhr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) ## More Ethics quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [He who mistrusts most should be trusted least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theognis-of-megara/he-who-mistrusts-most-should-be-trusted-least/) [Theognis of Megara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theognis-of-megara/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/ethics-is-the-activity-of-man-directed-to-secure-the-inner-perfection/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Records, radio, television, movies, magazines-all are monopolized by the money managers who are guided by one ethic, the words wealth and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/records-radio-television-movies-magazines-all-are-monopolized-by-the/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [What our species needs, above all else, is a generally accepted ethical system that is compatible with the scientific knowledge we now possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-our-species-needs-above-all-else-is-a-generally-accepted-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valdemar-w-setzer/ethics-is-not-definable-is-not-implementable-because-it-is-not/) [Valdemar W Setzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valdemar-w-setzer/) > [Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-hayes/any-time-you-give-a-man-something-he-doesn-t-earn-you-cheapen-him-our/) [Woody Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-hayes/) [Browse all 4,548 Ethics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Authentic religion teaches one to imagine the other -- to consider another's vulnerability and humanity. The beginning of ethics is this trancendent imagination' (Ingrid Mattson). 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