--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If freedom once required a secular…" description: "\"“If freedom once required a secular critique of religion, it can also require a religious critique of the secular.”\" — Harvey Cox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png" --- # If freedom once required a secular critique of religion… ![“If freedom once required a secular critique of religion, it can also require a religious critique of the secular.” quote by Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png) > ““If freedom once required a secular critique of religion, it can also require a religious critique of the secular.”” [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom may require critiquing both secular and religious frameworks to stay balanced. **In simple terms:** Freedom needs critique of both secular and religious ideas. Key Takeaway Question assumptions in all worldviews. Themes freedom critique secularism religion Mood analytical critical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - academic debate - public policy - personal belief formation Key Concepts philosophy political theory theology Questions to Reflect On - What biases shape your view of secularism? - How can critique be constructive? A Different Perspective Critique can alienate those deeply rooted in belief systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clericalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clericalism/) [Critique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critique/) [Critique Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critique-religion-5589417/) [Critique Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critique-secular-5589415/) [Emancipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious Critique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-critique-5589416/) [Required Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/required-secular-5589418/) [Secular Critique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular-critique-5589414/) [Secularism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularism/) ## Related quotes > [We Catholics have been in the forefront in defending the dignity of the human person. Clericalism is a direct violation of human dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/we-catholics-have-been-in-the-forefront-in-defending-the-dignity-of/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-want-to-see-the-church-get-closer-to-the-people-i-want-to-get-rid/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“We have seen some gatekeeping or fencing-the-table language already beginning to rear its head in this context. One needed to be baptized to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/we-have-seen-some-gatekeeping-or-fencing-the-table-language-already/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [I tell priests to flee from clericalism because clericalism distances people. May they flee from clericalism and I add: it's a plague in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-tell-priests-to-flee-from-clericalism-because-clericalism-distances/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Clericalism has rendered some of Ireland's brightest, most privileged and powerful men either unwilling or unable to address the horrors cited in the Ryan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/clericalism-has-rendered-some-of-ireland-s-brightest-most-privileged/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [“When exactly did this all change, and what were the social and theological factors that led to the change? The answer seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/when-exactly-did-this-all-change-and-what-were-the-social-and/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/it-also-happens-to-me-that-when-i-meet-a-clericalist-i-suddenly/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Clericalism is a form of elitism in which some are viewed as having special rights and privileges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/clericalism-is-a-form-of-elitism-in-which-some-are-viewed-as-having/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [Clericalism: the habitual confusion between that which is of Caesar, and that of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-andreotti/clericalism-the-habitual-confusion-between-that-which-is-of-caesar/) [Giulio Andreotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-andreotti/) ## More by Harvey Cox > [Not to decide is to decide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/not-to-decide-is-to-decide/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [Somewhere deep down we know that in the final analysis, we do decide things and that even our decisions to let someone else decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/somewhere-deep-down-we-know-that-in-the-final-analysis-we-do-decide/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [Secularism is not only indifferent to alternative religious systems, but as a religious ideology it is opposed to any other religious systems. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/secularism-is-not-only-indifferent-to-alternative-religious-systems/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [“The values we rightly associate with the modern age - the "liberty, equality, and fraternity" of the French revolution - are all endangered today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/the-values-we-rightly-associate-with-the-modern-age-the-liberty/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [There has never been a better raconteur than Jesus of Nazareth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/there-has-never-been-a-better-raconteur-than-jesus-of-nazareth/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [It is always the task of the intellectual to "think otherwise." This is not just a perverse idiosyncrasy. It is an absolutely essential feature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/it-is-always-the-task-of-the-intellectual-to-think-otherwise-this-is/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [Sermons remain one of the last forms of public discourse where it is culturally forbidden to talk back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/sermons-remain-one-of-the-last-forms-of-public-discourse-where-it-is/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [All human beings have an innate need to hear and tell stories and to have a story to live by. religion, whatever else it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/all-human-beings-have-an-innate-need-to-hear-and-tell-stories-and-to/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [All human beings have an innate need to hear and tell stories and to have a story to live by. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/all-human-beings-have-an-innate-need-to-hear-and-tell-stories-and-to-2/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [What we are seeking so frantically elsewhere may turn out to be the horse we have been riding all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/what-we-are-seeking-so-frantically-elsewhere-may-turn-out-to-be-the/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [The comic, more than the tragic, because it ignites hope, leads to more, not less, participation in the struggle for a just world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/the-comic-more-than-the-tragic-because-it-ignites-hope-leads-to-more/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [The real ecumenical crisis today is not between Catholics and Protestants but between traditional and experimental forms of church life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/the-real-ecumenical-crisis-today-is-not-between-catholics-and/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [God laughs, it seems, because God knows how it all turns out in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/god-laughs-it-seems-because-god-knows-how-it-all-turns-out-in-the-end/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > ["Religion" can no more be equated with what goes on in churches than "education" can be reduced to what happens in schools or "health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/religion-can-no-more-be-equated-with-what-goes-on-in-churches-than/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) > [We now live in a 'post-Christian' America . The Judeo-Christian ethic no longer guides our social institutions. Christian ideals and values no longer dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/we-now-live-in-a-post-christian-america-the-judeo-christian-ethic-no/) [Harvey Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) [Explore all 24 Harvey Cox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/) ## More Clericalism quotes > [We Catholics have been in the forefront in defending the dignity of the human person. Clericalism is a direct violation of human dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/we-catholics-have-been-in-the-forefront-in-defending-the-dignity-of/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-want-to-see-the-church-get-closer-to-the-people-i-want-to-get-rid/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“We have seen some gatekeeping or fencing-the-table language already beginning to rear its head in this context. One needed to be baptized to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/we-have-seen-some-gatekeeping-or-fencing-the-table-language-already/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [I tell priests to flee from clericalism because clericalism distances people. May they flee from clericalism and I add: it's a plague in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-tell-priests-to-flee-from-clericalism-because-clericalism-distances/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Clericalism has rendered some of Ireland's brightest, most privileged and powerful men either unwilling or unable to address the horrors cited in the Ryan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/clericalism-has-rendered-some-of-ireland-s-brightest-most-privileged/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [“When exactly did this all change, and what were the social and theological factors that led to the change? The answer seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/when-exactly-did-this-all-change-and-what-were-the-social-and/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/it-also-happens-to-me-that-when-i-meet-a-clericalist-i-suddenly/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Clericalism is a form of elitism in which some are viewed as having special rights and privileges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/clericalism-is-a-form-of-elitism-in-which-some-are-viewed-as-having/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [Clericalism: the habitual confusion between that which is of Caesar, and that of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-andreotti/clericalism-the-habitual-confusion-between-that-which-is-of-caesar/) [Giulio Andreotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-andreotti/) [Browse all 10 Clericalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clericalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If freedom once required a secular critique of religion, it can also require a religious critique of the secular.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harvey Cox" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-critique-of-religion-it-can-also/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clericalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-critique-of-religion-it-can-also/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/harvey-cox-24811_clericalism_if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-criti_3139798.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If freedom once required a secular critique of religion, it can also require a religious critique of the…” — Harvey Cox", "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": "Harvey Cox", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-cox/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If freedom once required a secular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-critique-of-religion-it-can-also/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-cox/if-freedom-once-required-a-secular-critique-of-religion-it-can-also/#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 } } ] } ```