--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion is neither a theology nor a…" description: "\"Religion is neither a theology nor a theosophy; it is more than that, it is a discipline, a law, a yoke, an indissoluble engagement.\" — Joseph Joubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png" --- # Religion is neither a theology nor a theosophy; it is more… ![“Religion is neither a theology nor a theosophy; it is more than that, it is a discipline, a law, a yoke, an indissoluble engagement.” quote by Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png) > “Religion is neither a theology nor a theosophy; it is more than that, it is a discipline, a law, a yoke, an indissoluble engagement.” [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion functions as a binding discipline, more than doctrine, imposing obligations and unity. **In simple terms:** Religion is a binding law beyond belief. Key Takeaway Recognize the structural role of belief systems. Themes faith discipline community Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - ritual practice - ethical decision making - group identity Key Concepts social contract moral law Questions to Reflect On - How does discipline shape personal faith? - Can belief be both binding and liberating? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on discipline can suppress individual freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Theosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theosophy/) ## Related quotes > [Let us put theology out of religion. Theology has always sent the worst to heaven, the best to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/let-us-put-theology-out-of-religion-theology-has-always-sent-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [There is a broad distinction between religion and theology. The one is a natural, human experience common to all well-organized minds. The other is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/there-is-a-broad-distinction-between-religion-and-theology-the-one-is/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [I am fascinated in religion and theology and what people believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wayne-callies/i-am-fascinated-in-religion-and-theology-and-what-people-believe/) [Sarah Wayne Callies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wayne-callies/) > [THEOSOPHY, n. An ancient faith having all the certitude of religion and all the mystery of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/theosophy-n-an-ancient-faith-having-all-the-certitude-of-religion-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The essence of Theosophy is the perfect harmonizing of the divine with the human in man, the adjustment of his god-like qualities and aspirations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/the-essence-of-theosophy-is-the-perfect-harmonizing-of-the-divine/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [Theosophy blesses the world; Theology is its curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/theosophy-blesses-the-world-theology-is-its-curse/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [“There seems to be a thin, resilient, and self-healing shell between one's spiritual awareness and that dense web of confusion and often distress that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-fahey/there-seems-to-be-a-thin-resilient-and-self-healing-shell-between-one/) [Edward Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-fahey/) > [“Every life is a sadness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-life-is-a-sadness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Theosophy, on earth, is like the white ray of the spectrum, and each religion only one of the seven colours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/theosophy-on-earth-is-like-the-white-ray-of-the-spectrum-and-each/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the Shadow and the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/filling-the-conscious-mind-with-ideal-conceptions-is-a-characteristic/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I recall having read, at the brothers' instance, Madame Blavatsky's Key to Theosophy. This book stimulated in me the desire to read books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-recall-having-read-at-the-brothers-instance-madame-blavatsky-s-key/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I'm into a lot of Eastern philosophy. It's kind of like theosophy; it's about finding the relationships between all the great religions and focusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weyes-blood/i-m-into-a-lot-of-eastern-philosophy-it-s-kind-of-like-theosophy-it-s/) [Weyes Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weyes-blood/) > [The divine life is the spirit in everything that exists, from the atom to the archangel; the grain of dust could not be were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/the-divine-life-is-the-spirit-in-everything-that-exists-from-the-atom/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [“I believe that we traverse this Earth, to find the missing materials that we need, for building our eternal homes in the world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-believe-that-we-traverse-this-earth-to-find-the-missing-materials/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [In morals, theosophy builds its teachings on the unity, seeing in each form the expression of a common life, and therefore the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/in-morals-theosophy-builds-its-teachings-on-the-unity-seeing-in-each/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) ## More by Joseph Joubert > [Living requires but little life; doing requires much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/living-requires-but-little-life-doing-requires-much/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [What a man knows only through feeling can be explained only through enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/what-a-man-knows-only-through-feeling-can-be-explained-only-through/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Imagination is the eye of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/imagination-is-the-eye-of-the-soul/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [One man finds in religion his literature and his science, another finds in it his joy and his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-man-finds-in-religion-his-literature-and-his-science-another/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-books-there-are-whose-reputation-is-made-that-would-not/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [God has commanded Time to console the unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/god-has-commanded-time-to-console-the-unhappy/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We shall always keep a spare corner in our heads to give passing hospitality to our friends' opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-shall-always-keep-a-spare-corner-in-our-heads-to-give-passing/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Agriculture engenders good sense, and good sense of an excellent kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/agriculture-engenders-good-sense-and-good-sense-of-an-excellent-kind/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [To teach is to learn twice. About all some parents accomplish in life is to send a child to Harvard. The purpose of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/to-teach-is-to-learn-twice-about-all-some-parents-accomplish-in-life/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Grace is in garments, in movements, in manners; beauty in the nude, and in forms. This is true of bodies; but when we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/grace-is-in-garments-in-movements-in-manners-beauty-in-the-nude-and/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) [Explore all 306 Joseph Joubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) W.J. Turner > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) Burne Hogarth > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Religion is neither a theology nor a theosophy; it is more than that, it is a discipline, a law, a yoke, an indissoluble engagement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Joubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-theosophy-it-is-more-than-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discipline" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-theosophy-it-is-more-than-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/joseph-joubert-1017_discipline_religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-the_2377080.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Religion is neither a theology nor a theosophy; it is more than that, it is a discipline, a law, a yoke, an…” — Joseph Joubert", "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 Joubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Religion is neither a theology nor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-theosophy-it-is-more-than-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/religion-is-neither-a-theology-nor-a-theosophy-it-is-more-than-that/#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 } } ] } ```