--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Way down deep the American people are…" description: "\"Way down deep the American people are afraid of an entangling relationship between formal religions - or whole bodies of religious belief - and governm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/mario-cuomo-4807_american-people_way-down-deep-the-american-people-are-af_1109435.png" --- # Way down deep the American people are afraid of an… ![“Way down deep the American people are afraid of an entangling relationship between formal religions - or whole bodies of religious belief - and government. Apart from constitutional law and religious doctrine, there is a sense that tells us it's wrong to presume to speak for God or to claim God's…” quote by Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/mario-cuomo-4807_american-people_way-down-deep-the-american-people-are-af_1109435.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/mario-cuomo-4807_american-people_way-down-deep-the-american-people-are-af_1109435.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/mario-cuomo-4807_american-people_way-down-deep-the-american-people-are-af_1109435.png) > “Way down deep the American people are afraid of an entangling relationship between formal religions - or whole bodies of religious belief - and government. Apart from constitutional law and religious doctrine, there is a sense that tells us it's wrong to presume to speak for God or to claim God's sanction of our particular legislation and his rejection of all other positions. Most of us are offended when we see religion being trivialized by its appearance in political throw-away pamphlets.” [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that Americans fear mixing organized religion with government, believing it wrong to claim divine authority for laws and to trivialize faith in politics. **In simple terms:** People distrust religion influencing politics. Key Takeaway Keep church and state separate. Themes religion politics separation freedom public discourse Mood cautious reflective Type political ethical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - public policy debates - media coverage of faith - civic education Key Concepts secularism constitutional law public trust Questions to Reflect On - How can we respect faith without letting it dictate policy? - What safeguards ensure genuine secularism? A Different Perspective It may overlook that religious values can positively inform moral legislation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) [Appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-government-1446802/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Constitutional law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutional-law/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Formal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formal/) [Formal Religions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formal-religions-2948399/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-religious-622601/) [Legislation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislation/) [Offended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offended/) [Offended Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offended-religion-2948398/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Trivialized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-trivialized-1627303/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-belief/) [Sanctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctions/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Way down deep the American people are afraid of an entangling relationship between formal religions - or whole bodies of religious belief - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/way-down-deep-the-american-people-are-afraid-of-an-entangling-2/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [ The law for religious freedom... \[has\]put down the aristocracy of the clergy and restored to the citizen the freedom of the mind. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-law-for-religious-freedom-has-put-down-the-aristocracy-of-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [One of the genuine phenomenons over the past four decades has been the liberal community's steadfast insistence that God should be barred from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armstrong-williams/one-of-the-genuine-phenomenons-over-the-past-four-decades-has-been/) [Armstrong Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armstrong-williams/) > [The only true order is founded on Biblical Law. All law is religious in nature, and every non-Biblical law-order represents an anti-Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/the-only-true-order-is-founded-on-biblical-law-all-law-is-religious/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [A simple philosophy to stick to would be that religion and the promotion of religious opinion is none of the government's business. Congress can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-garman/a-simple-philosophy-to-stick-to-would-be-that-religion-and-the/) [Gene Garman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-garman/) > [The mission of the law is not to oppress persons and plunder them of their property, even though the law may be acting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-mission-of-the-law-is-not-to-oppress-persons-and-plunder-them-of/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Prosecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly-marked feature of all law-religious, or religions established by law.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/prosecution-is-not-an-original-feature-in-any-religion-but-it-is/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The U.K. has some of the best protections in law for religious groups in the world. They aren't perfect, but they provide a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/the-u-k-has-some-of-the-best-protections-in-law-for-religious-groups/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic tenets the belief that government should stay out of people’s private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/the-conservative-movement-to-which-i-subscribe-has-as-one-of-its/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [“Government” itself does no harm, because it is a fictional entity. But the belief in “government” – the notion that some people actually have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larken-rose/government-itself-does-no-harm-because-it-is-a-fictional-entity-but/) [Larken Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larken-rose/) > [At the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/at-the-heart-of-liberalism-really-is-a-hatred-for-god-and-a-belief/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [Neither the wording of the amendment itself nor common practice challenged the widely held belief that government guaranteed freedom of religion, not freedom from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/neither-the-wording-of-the-amendment-itself-nor-common-practice/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [Conservatives believe government's principal functions are the preservation of freedom and removal of restraints on the individual. Liberalism's ascent in the first two-thirds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/conservatives-believe-government-s-principal-functions-are-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government should do everything and the idea, the belief, that government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/what-we-have-to-do-is-strike-a-balance-between-the-idea-that/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) ## More by Mario Cuomo > [There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/there-is-a-respectable-body-of-economic-thought-that-holds-that/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [We believe in a government that is characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes beyond labels, that doesn't distort or promise to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/we-believe-in-a-government-that-is-characterized-by-fairness-and/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [America was born in outrageous ambition, so bold as to be improbable. The deprived, the oppressed, the powerless from all over the globe came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/america-was-born-in-outrageous-ambition-so-bold-as-to-be-improbable/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The biggest aggravation in the Arab world, the biggest reason for their anger toward us and the creation of those suicide terrorists, is Israel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-biggest-aggravation-in-the-arab-world-the-biggest-reason-for/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Nobody has ever gotten a bigger push than Bill Clinton gave to Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/nobody-has-ever-gotten-a-bigger-push-than-bill-clinton-gave-to-obama/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [It is not a government's obligation to provide services, but to see that they are provided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/it-is-not-a-government-s-obligation-to-provide-services-but-to-see/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/my-favorite-thought-about-abraham-lincoln-is-he-believed-in-two/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [9/11 occurs, and you're going to rebuild, and after awhile, the memory will be there, but there will be something new there, and different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/9-11-occurs-and-you-re-going-to-rebuild-and-after-awhile-the-memory/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The Mafia is a question every time an Italian raises his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-mafia-is-a-question-every-time-an-italian-raises-his-head/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [People asked me what I want as an epitaph: 'He tried'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/people-asked-me-what-i-want-as-an-epitaph-he-tried/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I had not even thought of running for president until one day in 1991, at a small fund-raiser, completely unanticipated, someone stood up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-had-not-even-thought-of-running-for-president-until-one-day-in-1991/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I protect my right to be a Catholic by preserving your right to believe as a Jew, a Protestant, or non-believer, or as anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-protect-my-right-to-be-a-catholic-by-preserving-your-right-to/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I love immigrants. Legal, illegal - they're not to be despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-love-immigrants-legal-illegal-they-re-not-to-be-despised/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Barack Obama is probably one of the brightest in terms of sheer intelligence... also probably the best orator we've ever had as a president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/barack-obama-is-probably-one-of-the-brightest-in-terms-of-sheer/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The American people need no course in philosophy or political science of church history to know that God should not be made into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-american-people-need-no-course-in-philosophy-or-political-science/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) [Explore all 105 Mario Cuomo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## More American people quotes > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [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/) > [For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-as-much-as-government-can-do-and-must-do-it-is-ultimately-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Given a choice between two bald political candidates, the American people will vote for the less bald of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-gold/given-a-choice-between-two-bald-political-candidates-the-american/) [Victor Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-gold/) > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I don't know a politician who enjoys fundraising. The system is such that the American people have lost faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-don-t-know-a-politician-who-enjoys-fundraising-the-system-is-such/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Probably the greatest single obstacle to the progress and happiness of the American people lies in the willingness of so many men to invest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/probably-the-greatest-single-obstacle-to-the-progress-and-happiness/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/if-a-financial-institution-has-business-operations-in-the-united/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [The coronavirus has yet again exposed the strong contrast between President Trump - who is working ardently for the American people - and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/the-coronavirus-has-yet-again-exposed-the-strong-contrast-between/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) > [The American people demand results, not rhetoric, especially when it comes to national security issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-hayworth/the-american-people-demand-results-not-rhetoric-especially-when-it/) [J. D. Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-hayworth/) > [Hillary Clinton truly is sincere, but she has to connect more with the American people in terms of what she believes in and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/hillary-clinton-truly-is-sincere-but-she-has-to-connect-more-with-the/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) [Browse all 2,233 American people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Way down deep the American people are afraid of an entangling relationship between formal religions - or whole bodies of religious belief - and government. 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