--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All religions are true but none are…" description: "\"All religions are true but none are literal.\" — Joseph Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png" --- # All religions are true but none are literal. ![“All religions are true but none are literal.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png) > “All religions are true but none are literal.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All religions hold truth but should not be taken literally; they convey symbolic meaning. **In simple terms:** Religions are true symbolically, not literally. Key Takeaway Interpret religious stories metaphorically. Themes religion symbolism truth Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - personal belief - interfaith dialogue - education Key Concepts Mythology comparative religion Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor symbolic truth while respecting literal believers? - What symbols resonate most with you? A Different Perspective Literal interpretations can cause conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religions/) ## Related quotes > [All religions are true. God can be reached by different religions. Many rivers flow by many ways but they fall into the sea. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/all-religions-are-true-god-can-be-reached-by-different-religions-many/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [I came to the conclusion long ago . . . that all religions were true, and also that all had some error in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-came-to-the-conclusion-long-ago-that-all-religions-were-true-and-2/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [All religions are true, because they are true in the hearts of all those who believe in them. What other kind of truth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/all-religions-are-true-because-they-are-true-in-the-hearts-of-all/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [All the religions are true, they just see a different part of the elephant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/all-the-religions-are-true-they-just-see-a-different-part-of-the/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [Respecting religions is not simply a question of universal tolerance; it is a question of believing that all religions are true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/respecting-religions-is-not-simply-a-question-of-universal-tolerance/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [All religions, plainly and simply, cannot be true. Some beliefs are false, and we know them to be false. So it does no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/all-religions-plainly-and-simply-cannot-be-true-some-beliefs-are/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/god-can-be-realized-through-all-paths-all-religions-are-true-the/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/bapu-gandhi-said-all-religions-are-true-i-just-want-to-love-god/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Bapu Ghandi said, "All religions are true." I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/bapu-ghandi-said-all-religions-are-true-i-just-want-to-love-god-i-2/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [After long study and experience, I have come to the conclusion that (1) all religions are true; (2) all religions have some error in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/after-long-study-and-experience-i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-1/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was hard, to be stripped of the cold comforts of her simple atheistic faith in middle-age. The more so as the evidence seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-stirling/it-was-hard-to-be-stripped-of-the-cold-comforts-of-her-simple/) [S.M. Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-stirling/) > [Anyone with sincere religious beliefs cannot say that all religions are true. That is so illogical it is pathetic. All religion cannot be true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/anyone-with-sincere-religious-beliefs-cannot-say-that-all-religions/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [My Hindu instinct tells me that all religions are more or less true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-hindu-instinct-tells-me-that-all-religions-are-more-or-less-true/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“All religions are true insofar as they give spiritual life to the people who profess them, insofar as they console them for having been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/all-religions-are-true-insofar-as-they-give-spiritual-life-to-the/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [“I sometimes believe there should have been only two religions - true & lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farooq/i-sometimes-believe-there-should-have-been-only-two-religions-true-lie/) Farooq ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. 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There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. 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To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Inspirational quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. 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It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) [Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All religions are true but none are literal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-literal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inspirational" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-literal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/joseph-campbell-300_inspirational_all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-lite_1649761.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All religions are true but none are literal.” — Joseph Campbell", "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": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All religions are true but none...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-literal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-religions-are-true-but-none-are-literal/#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 } } ] } ```