--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one can know how long this…" description: "\"No one can know how long this dumbing-down of American religion will persist. But so long as it does, citizens should probably be more vigilant about p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/mark-lilla-13300_baghdad_no-one-can-know-how-long-this-dumbing-do_1328242.jpg" --- # No one can know how long this dumbing-down of American… ![“No one can know how long this dumbing-down of American religion will persist. But so long as it does, citizens should probably be more vigilant about policing the public square, not less so. . . . [Y]ou cannot sustain liberal democracy without cultivating liberal habits of mind among religious…” quote by Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/mark-lilla-13300_baghdad_no-one-can-know-how-long-this-dumbing-do_1328242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/mark-lilla-13300_baghdad_no-one-can-know-how-long-this-dumbing-do_1328242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/mark-lilla-13300_baghdad_no-one-can-know-how-long-this-dumbing-do_1328242.jpg) > “No one can know how long this dumbing-down of American religion will persist. But so long as it does, citizens should probably be more vigilant about policing the public square, not less so. . . . \[Y\]ou cannot sustain liberal democracy without cultivating liberal habits of mind among religious believers. That remains true today, both in Baghdad and in Baton Rouge.” [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) ## 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 a simplified, populist version of religion threatens democratic health, urging vigilance and the cultivation of liberal thinking among believers. **In simple terms:** Simplified religion harms democracy; we must stay alert and promote liberal habits. Key Takeaway Promote critical thinking in religious communities. Themes democracy religion civic vigilance Mood concerned determined Type political analytical When to use this quote - political campaigns - faith-based community meetings - media analysis - school curricula Key Concepts liberalism public sphere civic education Questions to Reflect On - How can we encourage liberal habits without appearing hostile? - What role should secular institutions play? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on vigilance can stifle dialogue and alienate believers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-religion-1063010/) [Baghdad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baghdad/) [Baton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baton/) [Baton rouge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baton-rouge/) [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Cultivating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultivating/) [Cultivating Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultivating-liberal-4448372/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dumbing down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumbing-down/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits-of-mind/) [Know how](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-how/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Liberal democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-democracy/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-religious-688099/) [Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persist/) [Policing Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policing-public-1167335/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-persist-4448371/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Rouge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rouge/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Squares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squares/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Vigilant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigilant/) ## Related quotes > [Let's talk about policing and public safety. Let's debate what works and what does not. We must abandon practices that do not work, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/let-s-talk-about-policing-and-public-safety-let-s-debate-what-works/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [Policing has never been about public safety: its origins are rooted in social control, the denial of people's human rights, securing the U.S. borders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/policing-has-never-been-about-public-safety-its-origins-are-rooted-in/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [I don't mind most religious people, I talk to them. I listen to them, you know, banging on. "I prayed very hard and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/i-don-t-mind-most-religious-people-i-talk-to-them-i-listen-to-them/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [The Indian mind is first religious, then anything else. So this is to be strengthened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-indian-mind-is-first-religious-then-anything-else-so-this-is-to/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Enlightened teachers are not logical. They don't function from levels that are understandable to the human mind. They're not religious. Religions form around them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-teachers-are-not-logical-they-don-t-function-from-levels/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I meditate. I do transcendental meditation and I have been doing that for a long time and that does just clear the mind. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-meditate-i-do-transcendental-meditation-and-i-have-been-doing-that/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [“This is the only real "burden" of atheism. It calls for one to take full responsibility for their actions. There is no guiding hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casper-rigsby/this-is-the-only-real-burden-of-atheism-it-calls-for-one-to-take-full/) [Casper Rigsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casper-rigsby/) > [I regard myself as a religious... the temper of my mind as religious, and because I regard the temper of my mind as religious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-regard-myself-as-a-religious-the-temper-of-my-mind-as-religious-and/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [“In American religion, as in ancient Gnosticism, there is almost no sense of God’s difference from us—in other words, his majesty, sovereignty, self-existence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/in-american-religion-as-in-ancient-gnosticism-there-is-almost-no/) [Michael S. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-horton/) > [As a historian of American and African-American religion, I know that the Trayvon Martin moment is just one moment in a history of racism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/as-a-historian-of-american-and-african-american-religion-i-know-that/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [“Star Wars is the American religion," Davis said at one point, and Mychal said, "I think religion is the American religion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/star-wars-is-the-american-religion-davis-said-at-one-point-and-mychal/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [An American religion: Work, play, breathe, bathe, study, live, laugh, and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/an-american-religion-work-play-breathe-bathe-study-live-laugh-and-love/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [I think what you see a lot of in American religion, even in areas of American Christianity that don't go all the way with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-american-religion-even-in-areas-of/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“There are indeed millions of Christians in the United States, but most Americans who think that they are Christians truly are something else, intensely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/there-are-indeed-millions-of-christians-in-the-united-states-but-most/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Independent of the critique I'm making, I'm just trying to paint a more comprehensive portrait of American religion than you get from a right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/independent-of-the-critique-i-m-making-i-m-just-trying-to-paint-a/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) ## More by Mark Lilla > [“Democratic politics is about persuasion, not self-expression. I’m here, I’m queer will never provoke more than a pat on the head or a roll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/democratic-politics-is-about-persuasion-not-self-expression-i-m-here/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The other component was to build cadres through political education. 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It is a book about the fragility of our world, the world created by the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-stillborn-god-is-not-a-fairy-tale-it-is-a-book-about-the/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The forces at work in healthy party politics are centripetal; they encourage factions and interests to come together to work out common goals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-forces-at-work-in-healthy-party-politics-are-centripetal-they/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Martin Luther King Jr. was the greatest movement leader in American history. But, as Hillary Clinton once correctly pointed out, his efforts would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/martin-luther-king-jr-was-the-greatest-movement-leader-in-american/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Like any other political doctrine, liberalism makes assumptions about things human and divine, and these assumptions are, and ought to remain, open to disinterested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/like-any-other-political-doctrine-liberalism-makes-assumptions-about/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Better the self-torture of a godless Protestant conscience than the fantasies of a modern Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/better-the-self-torture-of-a-godless-protestant-conscience-than-the/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Identity is not the future of the left. It is not a force hostile to neoliberalism. Identity is Reaganism for lefties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/identity-is-not-the-future-of-the-left-it-is-not-a-force-hostile-to/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [Whoever takes it upon himself to write an honest intellectual history of twentieth-century Europe will need a strong stomach. But he will need something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/whoever-takes-it-upon-himself-to-write-an-honest-intellectual-history/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) [Explore all 51 Mark Lilla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) ## More Baghdad quotes > [“I know a feeling like that only comes once in a lifetime, and I think you should follow your heart’s desires. I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-ardalan/i-know-a-feeling-like-that-only-comes-once-in-a-lifetime-and-i-think/) [Ahmad Ardalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-ardalan/) > [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/) [Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/) > [Almost immediately, I remember right when Tikrit even fell, a few days after Baghdad fell, there was talks of insurgency, there was talks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farnaz-fassihi/almost-immediately-i-remember-right-when-tikrit-even-fell-a-few-days/) [Farnaz Fassihi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farnaz-fassihi/) > [What is at stake is how to answer the potential threat Iraq represents with the risk of proliferation of WMD. Baghdad's regime did use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-chirac/what-is-at-stake-is-how-to-answer-the-potential-threat-iraq/) [Jacques Chirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-chirac/) > [Our military superiority is so great - it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/our-military-superiority-is-so-great-it-s-far-greater-than-it-was-in/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-authority-of-the-civil-defense-issued-a-warning-to-the-civilian/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The mission statement was ordered, and it sent the 800th MP Brigade, effective the first of July, up to Baghdad. I joined my brigade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/the-mission-statement-was-ordered-and-it-sent-the-800th-mp-brigade/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [The senior officer who met with reporters in Baghdad said there had been 21 car bombings in the capital in May, and 126 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-lowry/the-senior-officer-who-met-with-reporters-in-baghdad-said-there-had/) [Rich Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-lowry/) > [There are people who haven't faced the reality of what has gone on in Iraq. They still think that the old central state is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-w-galbraith/there-are-people-who-haven-t-faced-the-reality-of-what-has-gone-on-in/) [Peter W. 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