--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An atheist is as religious as a theist." description: "\"An atheist is as religious as a theist.\" — Kedar Joshi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg" --- # An atheist is as religious as a theist. ![“An atheist is as religious as a theist.” quote by Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg) > “An atheist is as religious as a theist.” [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Atheism and theism are equally forms of belief, each requiring faith. **In simple terms:** Both belief systems rely on faith. Key Takeaway Recognize common ground in belief systems. Themes faith belief comparative religion Mood thoughtful neutral Type philosophical dialogue When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - personal belief - education Key Concepts epistemology philosophy of religion Questions to Reflect On - What defines faith across worldviews? - How can we respect differing belief systems? A Different Perspective Equating them may overlook substantive differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Theist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theist/) ## Related quotes > [Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/religion-has-actually-convinced-people-that-there-s-an-invisible-man/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“If you ask the religious person "What do you believe in?" he will tell you about one thing. But if you ask him "What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/if-you-ask-the-religious-person-what-do-you-believe-in-he-will-tell/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [I am an atheist, I have no religious beliefs. And obviously I don’t believe in spirituality of some kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-akhtar/i-am-an-atheist-i-have-no-religious-beliefs-and-obviously-i-don-t/) [Javed Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-akhtar/) > [I am 95% a theist and 5% an atheist; thus ultimately I am an agnostic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/i-am-95-a-theist-and-5-an-atheist-thus-ultimately-i-am-an-agnostic/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [An atheist has to know a lot more than I know. An atheist is someone who knows there is no god. By some definitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/an-atheist-has-to-know-a-lot-more-than-i-know-an-atheist-is-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a God or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-opposite-of-the-religious-fanatic-is-not-the-fanatical-atheist/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I am atheist in a very religious mould. I'm always asking myself the big questions. Where did we come from? Is there a meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-am-atheist-in-a-very-religious-mould-i-m-always-asking-myself-the-2/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I am atheist in a very religious mould. I'm always asking myself the big questions. Where did we come from? Is there a meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-am-atheist-in-a-very-religious-mould-i-m-always-asking-myself-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion. According to Renan, "The day after that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-atheist-is-a-religious-person-he-believes-in-atheism-as-though-it/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Now I have to say I'm a complete atheist, I have no religious views myself and no spiritual views, except very watered down humanistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chalmers/now-i-have-to-say-i-m-a-complete-atheist-i-have-no-religious-views/) [David Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chalmers/) > [Theists and atheists are equally religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/theists-and-atheists-are-equally-religious/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [I suspect that here theists and atheists would agree: Human beings have within them the ability to choose evil or good. We wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hamilton/i-suspect-that-here-theists-and-atheists-would-agree-human-beings/) [Adam Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hamilton/) > [Morality may exist in an atheist without any religion, and in a theist with a religion quite unspiritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-power-cobbe/morality-may-exist-in-an-atheist-without-any-religion-and-in-a-theist/) [Frances Power Cobbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-power-cobbe/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) ## More by Kedar Joshi > [It is human to search for the theory of everything and it is superhuman to find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/it-is-human-to-search-for-the-theory-of-everything-and-it-is/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Man is more social within than without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/man-is-more-social-within-than-without/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Life is painful to be meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/life-is-painful-to-be-meaningful/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [True love is like religion. It is full of devotion and free of doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/true-love-is-like-religion-it-is-full-of-devotion-and-free-of-doubt/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [What can be greater to life than to understand its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/what-can-be-greater-to-life-than-to-understand-its-meaning/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [If knowledge is my God, doubt would be my religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/if-knowledge-is-my-god-doubt-would-be-my-religion/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Painful life is brutal and painless life is superficial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/painful-life-is-brutal-and-painless-life-is-superficial/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [The most fundamental tragedy of my life is that the ones who I see do not exist and the one who exists I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/the-most-fundamental-tragedy-of-my-life-is-that-the-ones-who-i-see-do/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [“The language of sword is less powerful than the language of word, but most of the people understand the language of sword with greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/the-language-of-sword-is-less-powerful-than-the-language-of-word-but/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [In reality the universe has no geometry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/in-reality-the-universe-has-no-geometry/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [I'm a slumdog philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/i-m-a-slumdog-philosopher/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [History is an orphan. It can speak, but cannot hear. It can give, but cannot take. Its wounds and tragedies can be read and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/history-is-an-orphan-it-can-speak-but-cannot-hear-it-can-give-but/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [The will of man is the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/the-will-of-man-is-the-will-of-god/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Any systematic body of knowledge is science. The more systematic the body of knowledge is the more scientific it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/any-systematic-body-of-knowledge-is-science-the-more-systematic-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) [Explore all 153 Kedar Joshi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [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/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An atheist is as religious as a theist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kedar Joshi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/kedar-joshi-2717_atheism_an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist-1_1321838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An atheist is as religious as a theist.” — Kedar Joshi", "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": "Kedar Joshi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An atheist is as religious as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/an-atheist-is-as-religious-as-a-theist/#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 } } ] } ```