--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The difference between my beliefs and…" description: "\"The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in light of new evidence, but someone of a reli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg" --- # The difference between my beliefs and having a religious… ![“The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in light of new evidence, but someone of a religious faith will just stick their fingers in the ears and say: 'I'm not listening, there's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind.” quote by Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg) > “The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in light of new evidence, but someone of a religious faith will just stick their fingers in the ears and say: 'I'm not listening, there's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind.” [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific belief adapts to evidence, while some faith resists change, ignoring contrary data. **In simple terms:** Science changes with evidence; faith can be rigid. Key Takeaway Remain open to new evidence. Themes science faith open‑mindedness Mood analytical curious Type philosophical debate When to use this quote - public policy - education - personal belief systems Key Concepts epistemology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance evidence with personal beliefs? - When is it appropriate to hold onto a belief despite contrary data? A Different Perspective Faith can provide comfort even when evidence conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Beliefs Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beliefs-having-900643/) [Change Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-mind/) [Difference Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference-beliefs-900642/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Having Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-religious-486261/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-faith/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [I'm the world's least happy atheist. I miss having religious faith, but trying to have it seems like trying to be in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-williams/i-m-the-world-s-least-happy-atheist-i-miss-having-religious-faith-but/) [Lisa Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-williams/) > [The closest place that I feel like I come to having religious moments is always musical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-lee/the-closest-place-that-i-feel-like-i-come-to-having-religious-moments/) [Amos Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-lee/) > [The people that weep before my paintings are having the same religious experience that I had when I painted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-people-that-weep-before-my-paintings-are-having-the-same/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Some parents place undue priority on temporal and material possessions. Some are far less diligent in their efforts to immerse their children in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-l-cook/some-parents-place-undue-priority-on-temporal-and-material/) [Quentin L. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-l-cook/) > [I would describe my spirituality as exactly the opposite of having a religious affiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-would-describe-my-spirituality-as-exactly-the-opposite-of-having-a/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Much of the philosophy of religious education has been based upon a false premise, and perhaps many have missed the essence of Christian experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/much-of-the-philosophy-of-religious-education-has-been-based-upon-a/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“I am a cuddly atheist... I am against creationism being taught in schools because there is empirical evidence that it is a silly notion...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/i-am-a-cuddly-atheist-i-am-against-creationism-being-taught-in/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [How about we give this one more try, one more chance to finally get this right, give me a chance to change your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-about-we-give-this-one-more-try-one-more-chance-to-finally-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If someone hates or loves something, then right on. I can't rob them of that. I'm not going to try and change their mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-morissette/if-someone-hates-or-loves-something-then-right-on-i-can-t-rob-them-of/) [Alanis Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-morissette/) > [“Nonsense. One day, the right man will come along, and you’ll change your mind.” Harriet wasn’t so sure. In all her twenty-four years, she’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/nonsense-one-day-the-right-man-will-come-along-and-you-ll-change-your/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [The Day you change your mind it will change your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stankyrich/the-day-you-change-your-mind-it-will-change-your-life/) [Stankyrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stankyrich/) > [I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-d-go-back-to-december-turn-around-and-change-my-own-mind/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [“With repentance comes a change of mind that effects a change of direction, since one’s orientation of life is directed in faith to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-l-bock/with-repentance-comes-a-change-of-mind-that-effects-a-change-of/) [Darrell L. Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-l-bock/) > [“I left in a hurry before he could change his mind, but I want to make it clear that at no point did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/i-left-in-a-hurry-before-he-could-change-his-mind-but-i-want-to-make/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) > [I don't think comedy really does change people's minds; I think you can only get someone who is almost ready to change their mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jefferies/i-don-t-think-comedy-really-does-change-people-s-minds-i-think-you/) [Jim Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jefferies/) ## More by Jim Al-Khalili > [“One cannot, therefore, understand Arabic science without considering the extent to which Islam influenced scientific and philosophical thought. Arabic science was, throughout its golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/one-cannot-therefore-understand-arabic-science-without-considering/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [“His (Islamic astronomer al-Farghani) legacy also endures through the Italian writer and poet Dante (1265-1321), who derived most of the astronomical knowledge he included…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/his-islamic-astronomer-al-farghani-legacy-also-endures-through-the/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [I find it more comfortable to say I'm an atheist, and for that I probably have someone like Dawkins to thank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/i-find-it-more-comfortable-to-say-i-m-an-atheist-and-for-that-i/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [ “Many historians regard him \[Offa\] as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great. 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Their fates remain intertwined until a measurement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/however-far-apart-we-pull-two-entagled-particles-they-remain/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [“For the early scholars of Islam, there would have been no conflict between religion and science. The early thinkers were quite clear abou their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/for-the-early-scholars-of-islam-there-would-have-been-no-conflict/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [“It is a fact of life that oversimplified accounts of the development of science are often necessary in its teaching. 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Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in light of new evidence, but someone of a religious faith will just stick their fingers in the ears and say: 'I'm not listening, there's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Al-Khalili" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-having-a-religious-faith-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-having-a-religious-faith-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/jim-al-khalili-25557_belief_the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-ha_865768.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in…” — Jim Al-Khalili", "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": "Jim Al-Khalili", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The difference between my beliefs and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-having-a-religious-faith-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/the-difference-between-my-beliefs-and-having-a-religious-faith-is/#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 } } ] } ```