--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our religious institutions have far too…" description: "\"Our religious institutions have far too often become handmaidens of the status quo, while the genuine religious experience is anything but that. True r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/marianne-williamson-90_birth_our-religious-institutions-have-far-too_1443086.png" --- # Our religious institutions have far too often become… ![“Our religious institutions have far too often become handmaidens of the status quo, while the genuine religious experience is anything but that. True religion is by nature disruptive of what has been, giving birth to the eternally new.” quote by Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/marianne-williamson-90_birth_our-religious-institutions-have-far-too_1443086.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/marianne-williamson-90_birth_our-religious-institutions-have-far-too_1443086.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/marianne-williamson-90_birth_our-religious-institutions-have-far-too_1443086.png) > “Our religious institutions have far too often become handmaidens of the status quo, while the genuine religious experience is anything but that. True religion is by nature disruptive of what has been, giving birth to the eternally new.” [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religious institutions often preserve existing power structures, while authentic spirituality challenges and renews them. **In simple terms:** Institutions preserve status quo; true faith disrupts and renews. Key Takeaway Embrace disruptive spirituality. Themes religion institution disruption renewal authority Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - personal faith - community reform - social justice Key Concepts Power dynamics authenticity spiritual renewal Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice faith that challenges the status quo? - What structures resist spiritual disruption? A Different Perspective Even true faith can become institutionalized and lose its edge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Disruptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruptive/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Genuine Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine-religious-775531/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-birth/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-experience/) [Religious Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-institutions-2112549/) [Status quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status-quo/) [True religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-religion/) ## Related quotes > [I received more genuine religious stimulation in prison than in the seminary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dellinger/i-received-more-genuine-religious-stimulation-in-prison-than-in-the/) [David Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dellinger/) > [Organized religious institutions are in for a huge transformation, for the simple reason that people have become genuinely religious in spite of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/organized-religious-institutions-are-in-for-a-huge-transformation-for/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“There are, then, three sorts of religious experiences. The ancient rites, which are essentially propitiatory. The mysteries, which purge the soul and allow us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-are-then-three-sorts-of-religious-experiences-the-ancient-rites/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Because religious institutions are not afraid to talk about love as a goal, they are likely to be more effective at providing community services.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/because-religious-institutions-are-not-afraid-to-talk-about-love-as-a/) [Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/) > [In the battle for preserving sound social and moral norms, many religious institutions can no longer be counted as allies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bennett/in-the-battle-for-preserving-sound-social-and-moral-norms-many/) [William Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bennett/) > [It seems that the right of freedom of speech that was enshrined in numerous constitutions is now under attack by religious institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-seems-that-the-right-of-freedom-of-speech-that-was-enshrined-in/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I always tell people that religious institutions and political institutions should be separate. So while I'm telling people this, I myself continue with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-always-tell-people-that-religious-institutions-and-political/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I think most of our religious institutions are pretty corrupt, so they're not reliable. I think the Christian religion that I was brought up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gere/i-think-most-of-our-religious-institutions-are-pretty-corrupt-so-they/) [Richard Gere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gere/) > [Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/religious-institutions-that-use-government-power-in-support-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Our religious institutions are not giving very many men access to credible encounters with the holy or even with their own wholeness. We largely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/our-religious-institutions-are-not-giving-very-many-men-access-to/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The days of discriminating against religious institutions simply because they are religious must come to an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-days-of-discriminating-against-religious-institutions-simply/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Spirituality is an inner fire, a mystical sustenance that feeds our souls. The mystical journey drives us into ourselves, to a sacred flame at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/spirituality-is-an-inner-fire-a-mystical-sustenance-that-feeds-our/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Painting' and 'religious experience' are the same thing. It is a question of the perpetual motion of a right idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-nicholson/painting-and-religious-experience-are-the-same-thing-it-is-a-question/) [Ben Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-nicholson/) > [I just had a thought that perhaps religion is so vibrant here is because of the melting pot aspect to our society. WE have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-quinn/i-just-had-a-thought-that-perhaps-religion-is-so-vibrant-here-is/) [Sally Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-quinn/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) ## More by Marianne Williamson > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Great people are not people who have never fallen down. Greatness has to do with how you get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/great-people-are-not-people-who-have-never-fallen-down-greatness-has/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I feel that if your soul was branded by the sixties, you never lost the brand. 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And we find that we cannot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/until-we-have-met-the-monsters-in-ourselves-we-keep-trying-to-slay/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [No matter how sad we might be, the universe is still planning our happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/no-matter-how-sad-we-might-be-the-universe-is-still-planning-our/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Love is who we are, and when we deviate from that love we're deviating from our ultimate, essential, eternal reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/love-is-who-we-are-and-when-we-deviate-from-that-love-we-re-deviating/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [For many, many people, getting married is one of the most important things they will ever do in the pursuit of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/for-many-many-people-getting-married-is-one-of-the-most-important/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [As all of us are only too aware, the loud and frantic voices of the outer world easily drown out the small, still loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/as-all-of-us-are-only-too-aware-the-loud-and-frantic-voices-of-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [It is not too late. You are not too old. You are right on time-And you are better than you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/it-is-not-too-late-you-are-not-too-old-you-are-right-on-time-and-you/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I tell my mother I went to God in spite of my religious education. I feel that my religious education was inadequate, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-tell-my-mother-i-went-to-god-in-spite-of-my-religious-education-i/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [You don't have to be a spiritual seeker, you can be a businessman dealing with the revolution in computers. You could be a congressman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-spiritual-seeker-you-can-be-a-businessman/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Dear God, I surrender this thought to you, for I would see the miracle that lies behind it. Amen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/dear-god-i-surrender-this-thought-to-you-for-i-would-see-the-miracle/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Explore all 1,347 Marianne Williamson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. 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