--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion seems to have grown an infant…" description: "\"Religion seems to have grown an infant with age, and requires miracles to nurse it, as it had in its infancy.\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg" --- # Religion seems to have grown an infant with age, and… ![“Religion seems to have grown an infant with age, and requires miracles to nurse it, as it had in its infancy.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg) > “Religion seems to have grown an infant with age, and requires miracles to nurse it, as it had in its infancy.” [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion matures yet retains childlike dependence on miracles for validation. **In simple terms:** Religion ages but still needs miracles. Key Takeaway Recognize faith's need for evidence. Themes faith miracles growth Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - church rituals - personal belief - public discourse Key Concepts theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do modern believers reconcile faith with reason? - What role do miracles play in contemporary religion? A Different Perspective Miracles may be metaphorical, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Grown Infant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-infant-3492843/) [Infancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infancy/) [Infant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infant/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Grown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-grown-3492842/) [Requires Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-miracles-2359568/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) ## Related quotes > [“The classic sign of a shitty startup idea is that it requires at least two (or more!) miracles to succeed. This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-garcia-martinez/the-classic-sign-of-a-shitty-startup-idea-is-that-it-requires-at/) [Antonio Garcia Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-garcia-martinez/) > [Change is the handmaiden Nature requires to do her miracles with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/change-is-the-handmaiden-nature-requires-to-do-her-miracles-with/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I have come to believe that when we live in a way that requires miracles, we will start to see them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/i-have-come-to-believe-that-when-we-live-in-a-way-that-requires/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“There’s an infant part in our souls which longs for the lullaby truths of life every night for a tranquil slumber.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/there-s-an-infant-part-in-our-souls-which-longs-for-the-lullaby/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [Babies are always more trouble than you thought and more wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-osgood/babies-are-always-more-trouble-than-you-thought-and-more-wonderful/) [Charles Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-osgood/) > [“Love at infancy is the strongest and puriest of all, it is mixed with infatuation and deep happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/love-at-infancy-is-the-strongest-and-puriest-of-all-it-is-mixed-with-2/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The young blush much more freely than the old but not during infancy, which is remarkable, as we know that infants at a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-young-blush-much-more-freely-than-the-old-but-not-during-infancy/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Hear, O God. Alas, for man's sin! So saith man, and Thou pitiest him; for Thou madest him, but sin is in him Thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/hear-o-god-alas-for-man-s-sin-so-saith-man-and-thou-pitiest-him-for/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Love at infancy is the strongest and puriest of all, it is mixed with infatuation and deep happiness. Persistent smile brings out hollow dimples,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/love-at-infancy-is-the-strongest-and-puriest-of-all-it-is-mixed-with/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“...as we are endowed. ...with rhetorics. ...none will deny. ...of innocence. ...towards scribbling. ...of love lines. ...and of lust. ...to what seems like male.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/as-we-are-endowed-with-rhetorics-none-will-deny-of-innocence-towards/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Navajo infants get so attached to cradleboard that they cry to be tied into it. Kikuyu infants in Kenya get handed around several"mothers," all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-konner/navajo-infants-get-so-attached-to-cradleboard-that-they-cry-to-be/) [Melvin Konner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-konner/) > [I find no change of consequence in grown people, I do not miss the dead. It does not surprise me to hear that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-find-no-change-of-consequence-in-grown-people-i-do-not-miss-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by Jonathan Swift > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“He said, he knew no reason why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to the public should be obliged to change, or should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-said-he-knew-no-reason-why-those-who-entertain-opinions/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [May you live every day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/may-you-live-every-day-of-your-life/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Ale is meat, drink and cloth; it will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ale-is-meat-drink-and-cloth-it-will-make-a-cat-speak-and-a-wise-man/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor; it is like spending this year part of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/all-fits-of-pleasure-are-balanced-by-an-equal-degree-of-pain-or/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/when-a-great-genius-appears-in-the-world-you-may-know-him-by-this/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) [Explore all 535 Jonathan Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Religion seems to have grown an infant with age, and requires miracles to nurse it, as it had in its infancy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-with-age-and-requires-miracles/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-with-age-and-requires-miracles/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d1/jonathan-swift-433_age_religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-w_386166.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Religion seems to have grown an infant with age, and requires miracles to nurse it, as it had in its infancy.” — Jonathan Swift", "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": "Jonathan Swift", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Religion seems to have grown an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-with-age-and-requires-miracles/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/religion-seems-to-have-grown-an-infant-with-age-and-requires-miracles/#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 } } ] } ```