--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion is not a burden, not a weight…" description: "\"Religion is not a burden, not a weight, it is wings.\" — Harry Emerson Fosdick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/harry-emerson-fosdick-3672_burden_religion-is-not-a-burden-not-a-weight-it_2167754.png" --- # Religion is not a burden, not a weight, it is wings. ![“Religion is not a burden, not a weight, it is wings.” quote by Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/harry-emerson-fosdick-3672_burden_religion-is-not-a-burden-not-a-weight-it_2167754.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/harry-emerson-fosdick-3672_burden_religion-is-not-a-burden-not-a-weight-it_2167754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/harry-emerson-fosdick-3672_burden_religion-is-not-a-burden-not-a-weight-it_2167754.png) > “Religion is not a burden, not a weight, it is wings.” [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion should empower people like wings, not weigh them down, encouraging freedom and uplift. **In simple terms:** Religion is freedom, not a weight. Key Takeaway Embrace faith as a source of freedom. Themes spirituality freedom empowerment faith uplift Mood hopeful inspirational reflective Type sermon philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Personal spiritual growth - overcoming oppression - finding purpose - using faith for empowerment Key Concepts Wings metaphor burden metaphor positive theology Questions to Reflect On - How can faith lift you? - What burdens does religion actually remove? A Different Perspective May overlook institutional challenges that can feel burdensome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-burden-4628756/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Weight Wings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight-wings-2199787/) [Wings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wings/) ## Related quotes > [“Does the bird feel the weight of its wings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/does-the-bird-feel-the-weight-of-its-wings/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [The ox feels the yoke, but does the bird feel the weight of its wings?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/the-ox-feels-the-yoke-but-does-the-bird-feel-the-weight-of-its-wings/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [The gospel is not weight, it is wings. It carries us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-a-stevens/the-gospel-is-not-weight-it-is-wings-it-carries-us/) [Jean A. Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-a-stevens/) > [Love was a sacred garment, woven of a fabric so thin that it could not be seen, yet so strong that even mighty death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/love-was-a-sacred-garment-woven-of-a-fabric-so-thin-that-it-could-not/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The cross of Christ is the sweetest burden that I ever bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/the-cross-of-christ-is-the-sweetest-burden-that-i-ever-bore-it-is/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It's the weight on our shoulders. That is what's actually different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-sets-black-people-apart-is-not-some-deficit-in-personal/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-man-ever-sank-under-the-burden-of-the-day-it-is-when-tomorrow-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some of the burdens we carry include false weight, perhaps to make up for all the horrible stuff we actually did and forgot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-of-the-burdens-we-carry-include-false-weight-perhaps-to-make-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the burdens of being a black male is carrying the heavy weight of other people’s suspicions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/one-of-the-burdens-of-being-a-black-male-is-carrying-the-heavy-weight/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [He saw a picture in his mind of a terrible piling up of the dead. 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The imagination must be given not wings but weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/nature-to-be-commanded-must-be-obeyed-the-imagination-must-be-given/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Now I'm free of him and I'm light as a feather. There's no weight holding me down; I'm ready to spread my wings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-holmes/now-i-m-free-of-him-and-i-m-light-as-a-feather-there-s-no-weight/) [Larry Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-holmes/) > [But a most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/but-a-most-pernicious-error-widely-prevails-that-scripture-has-only/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) ## More by Harry Emerson Fosdick > [Nothing in human life, least of all in religion, is ever right until it is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/nothing-in-human-life-least-of-all-in-religion-is-ever-right-until-it/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [Life asks not merely what you can do; it asks how much can you endure and not be spoiled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/life-asks-not-merely-what-you-can-do-it-asks-how-much-can-you-endure/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [It is cynicism and fear that freeze life; it is faith that thaws it out, releases it, sets it free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/it-is-cynicism-and-fear-that-freeze-life-it-is-faith-that-thaws-it/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [“Whatever the situation and however disheartening it may be, it is a great hour when a man ceases adopting difficulties as an excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/whatever-the-situation-and-however-disheartening-it-may-be-it-is-a/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [The all but unanimous judgment seems to be that we, the democracies, are just as responsible for the rise of the dictators as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/the-all-but-unanimous-judgment-seems-to-be-that-we-the-democracies/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [Atheism is a theoretical formulation of the discouraged life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/atheism-is-a-theoretical-formulation-of-the-discouraged-life/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this. Irritations set into his shell. He does not like them. But when he cannot get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/the-most-extraordinary-thing-about-the-oyster-is-this-irritations-set/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [The tragedy of war is that it uses man's best to do man's worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/the-tragedy-of-war-is-that-it-uses-man-s-best-to-do-man-s-worst/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [No one can be wrong with man and right with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/no-one-can-be-wrong-with-man-and-right-with-god/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [No man need stay the way he is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/no-man-need-stay-the-way-he-is/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [Preaching is personal counseling on a group basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/preaching-is-personal-counseling-on-a-group-basis/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [Every year the inventions of science weave more inextricably the web that binds man to man, group to group, nation to nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/every-year-the-inventions-of-science-weave-more-inextricably-the-web/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/he-who-cannot-rest-cannot-work-he-who-cannot-let-go-cannot-hold-on-he/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [It is not marriage that fails; it is people that fail. All that marriage does is to show people up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/it-is-not-marriage-that-fails-it-is-people-that-fail-all-that/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind's eye and you will be drawn toward it. Picture yourself vividly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/hold-a-picture-of-yourself-long-and-steadily-enough-in-your-mind-s/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) [Explore all 123 Harry Emerson Fosdick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) ## More Burden quotes > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. 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We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. 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