--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Given the ambiguity of religious texts…" description: "\"Given the ambiguity of religious texts and teachings, the mixed historical record, and the empirical evidence, it would be foolhardy to assert that rel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/kenneth-d-wald-78148_ambiguity_given-the-ambiguity-of-religious-texts-a_2739457.jpg" --- # Given the ambiguity of religious texts and teachings, the… ![“Given the ambiguity of religious texts and teachings, the mixed historical record, and the empirical evidence, it would be foolhardy to assert that religious faith necessarily upholds democratic values.” quote by Kenneth D. Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/kenneth-d-wald-78148_ambiguity_given-the-ambiguity-of-religious-texts-a_2739457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/kenneth-d-wald-78148_ambiguity_given-the-ambiguity-of-religious-texts-a_2739457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/kenneth-d-wald-78148_ambiguity_given-the-ambiguity-of-religious-texts-a_2739457.jpg) > “Given the ambiguity of religious texts and teachings, the mixed historical record, and the empirical evidence, it would be foolhardy to assert that religious faith necessarily upholds democratic values.” [Kenneth D. Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-wald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Given religious ambiguity and mixed history, asserting that faith inherently supports democracy is unwise. **In simple terms:** Faith doesn’t guarantee democracy. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate faith‑democracy links. Themes religion democracy skepticism Mood analytical thoughtful Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - civic education - interfaith forums Key Concepts political theory history Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports faith‑democracy synergy? - How can secular values coexist with faith? A Different Perspective Some faith communities actively promote democratic values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Ambiguity Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity-religious-3015702/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-values/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Empirical evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empirical-evidence/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Evidence Foolhardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-foolhardy-3015703/) [Foolhardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolhardy/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-faith/) [Religious texts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-texts/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teachings Mixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachings-mixed-3015704/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [The earliest religious texts in the West ascribe to humankind both a prehistory and a destiny among the gods. M. David Litwa presents a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terryl-l-givens/the-earliest-religious-texts-in-the-west-ascribe-to-humankind-both-a/) [Terryl L. Givens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terryl-l-givens/) > [ But, the true reason for the success of such new expositions \[translated Eastern religious texts\] is to be found where they are the most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/but-the-true-reason-for-the-success-of-such-new-expositions/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [You can already download any of the religious texts onto electronic mechanisms like a Kindle. But I think many people prefer to hold a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/you-can-already-download-any-of-the-religious-texts-onto-electronic/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Leaving religious texts open too interpretation is the downfall of religion itself. If it is truly the word of God then there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/leaving-religious-texts-open-too-interpretation-is-the-downfall-of/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Even in this secular country, the threat posed by religious fundamentalists is never very far away. Every major religious text exhorts the same principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/even-in-this-secular-country-the-threat-posed-by-religious/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [“Teaching and learning \_religious plurality often ends up privileging religious \_texts\_ over \_practice\_ and largely ignoring the social and historical contexts and the lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/teaching-and-learning-religious-plurality-often-ends-up-privileging/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) > [ “\[Fables\] teach us that human beings learn and absorb ideas and concepts through narrative, through stories, not through lessons or theoretical speeches. This is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/fables-teach-us-that-human-beings-learn-and-absorb-ideas-and-concepts/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Certainly I had from an early age a sense of the power and beauty of religious texts - the awesome magnitude of the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayana-mathis/certainly-i-had-from-an-early-age-a-sense-of-the-power-and-beauty-of/) [Ayana Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayana-mathis/) > [“They teach us that human beings learn and absorb ideas and concepts through narrative, through stories, not through lessons or theoretical speeches. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/they-teach-us-that-human-beings-learn-and-absorb-ideas-and-concepts/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Once you're in a kind of revealed religious tradition, you wind up having to explain how the things said about God in the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/once-you-re-in-a-kind-of-revealed-religious-tradition-you-wind-up/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [“Although some popular religious texts such as the New Testament, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, or Tibetan Book of the Dead contain interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-charles/although-some-popular-religious-texts-such-as-the-new-testament-quran/) [H.W. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-charles/) > [A lot of religious texts make for good reading. That's why they hold up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-mccombs/a-lot-of-religious-texts-make-for-good-reading-that-s-why-they-hold-up/) [Cass McCombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-mccombs/) > [That happens a lot when people become parents, too. There's just so much at stake suddenly, and you're also witness to the total miracle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-jennings/that-happens-a-lot-when-people-become-parents-too-there-s-just-so/) [Mason Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-jennings/) > [“But the religious texts do describe—some have said, prescribe—the disfigurement of women who transgress sexually.23”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaiutra-bahadur/but-the-religious-texts-do-describe-some-have-said-prescribe-the/) [Gaiutra Bahadur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaiutra-bahadur/) > [“Does that mean that religious texts are worthless as guides to ethics? Of course not. They are magnificent sources of insight into human nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/does-that-mean-that-religious-texts-are-worthless-as-guides-to-ethics/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) ## More by Kenneth D. Wald > [Organizational Development: The New Christian Right of the 1980s was dominated by paper organizations that were essentially the mailing lists of a handful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-d-wald/organizational-development-the-new-christian-right-of-the-1980s-was/) [Kenneth D. Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-wald/) > [Incrementalism: In the first generation, the goal of the movement was wholesale social and cultural transformation. Small, incremental victories were too little given the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-d-wald/incrementalism-in-the-first-generation-the-goal-of-the-movement-was/) [Kenneth D. Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-wald/) [Explore all 3 Kenneth D. Wald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-wald/) ## More Ambiguity quotes > [The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-position-is-clear-there-is-no-ambiguity-in-sinn-fein-s-position/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/i-blame-my-grandfather-100-percent-for-his-oldest-son-s-death-i-don-t/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [I think the relationship between social-dominance orientation in people and the extent to which they're made uncomfortable by ambiguity and novelty is really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/i-think-the-relationship-between-social-dominance-orientation-in/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Yet again, an ancient answer echoes across the centuries: Listen! Listen to stories! For what stories do, above all else, is hold up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/yet-again-an-ancient-answer-echoes-across-the-centuries-listen-listen/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [My path to wisdom began when I stopped pretending to know things I didn't know. When I explicitly admitted to the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/my-path-to-wisdom-began-when-i-stopped-pretending-to-know-things-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-order-to-be-as-free-as-i-possibly-can-in-my-own-imagination-i-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I've always been drawn to ambiguity in pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-ambiguity-in-pop-music/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I am in the utmost perplexity, yand have wished a hundred times, that if there is a A God, nature would manifest him without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-am-in-the-utmost-perplexity-yand-have-wished-a-hundred-times-that/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There's a lot of ambiguity in life, and so often, our art is very neatly wrapped up at the end, when our lives never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/there-s-a-lot-of-ambiguity-in-life-and-so-often-our-art-is-very/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“Man must not attempt to dispel the ambiguity of his being but, on the contrary, accept the task of realizing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/man-must-not-attempt-to-dispel-the-ambiguity-of-his-being-but-on-the/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) [Browse all 431 Ambiguity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Given the ambiguity of religious texts and teachings, the mixed historical record, and the empirical evidence, it would be foolhardy to assert that religious faith necessarily upholds democratic values.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth D. 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