--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Political organizations have slowly…" description: "\"Political organizations have slowly substituted themselves for the Churches as the places of believing practices, but for this very reason, they seem t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/michel-de-certeau-15812_believe_political-organizations-have-slowly-subs_1283437.jpg" --- # Political organizations have slowly substituted themselves… ![“Political organizations have slowly substituted themselves for the Churches as the places of believing practices, but for this very reason, they seem to have been haunted by the return of a very ancient (preChristian) and very “pagan” alliance between power and religion. It is as though now that…” quote by Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/michel-de-certeau-15812_believe_political-organizations-have-slowly-subs_1283437.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/michel-de-certeau-15812_believe_political-organizations-have-slowly-subs_1283437.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f7/michel-de-certeau-15812_believe_political-organizations-have-slowly-subs_1283437.jpg) > “Political organizations have slowly substituted themselves for the Churches as the places of believing practices, but for this very reason, they seem to have been haunted by the return of a very ancient (preChristian) and very “pagan” alliance between power and religion. It is as though now that religion has ceased to be an autonomous power (the “power of religion,” people used to say), politics has once again become religious.” [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political groups have taken over the role of churches, creating a new alliance of power and religion reminiscent of ancient pagan ties, making politics itself religious again. **In simple terms:** Politics now mirrors religion, forming an old power‑religion alliance. Key Takeaway Recognize the blending of political and religious authority. Themes power religion politics history society Mood critical analytical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - election cycles - policy debates - public discourse Key Concepts secularism institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - What are modern examples of this power‑religion blend? - How does this affect civic engagement? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex modern dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-love/) ## Related quotes > [ Politics and religious leaders \[are hindered\] by their egotism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/politics-and-religious-leaders-are-hindered-by-their-egotism/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I don't think Israel's becoming more religious, I think its politics is becoming more religious. There's a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yair-lapid/i-don-t-think-israel-s-becoming-more-religious-i-think-its-politics/) [Yair Lapid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yair-lapid/) > [Political organizations have slowly substituted themselves for the Churches as the places for believing practices. Politics has once again become religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/political-organizations-have-slowly-substituted-themselves-for-the-2/) [Michel De Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [The state has physical power and uses it when necessary; the power of religion is love and beneficence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/the-state-has-physical-power-and-uses-it-when-necessary-the-power-of/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [Christianity is a power religion. Christ has the power to re-create men from the inside out, as every man who has ever met Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/christianity-is-a-power-religion-christ-has-the-power-to-re-create/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [Power corrupts. If the Church is given too much power, it will become corrupted. So to keep the Church in line with the teachings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/power-corrupts-if-the-church-is-given-too-much-power-it-will-become/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [I think I'm fascinated by the power of religion in our culture. Like a lot of secular, liberal people, I ignored it for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-think-i-m-fascinated-by-the-power-of-religion-in-our-culture-like-a/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [It would be foolish to assert that there is no power above mine. Only the attitude that I take toward it will be quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/it-would-be-foolish-to-assert-that-there-is-no-power-above-mine-only/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [“All of my work is, in one way or another, about power. Who has it and why? Who doesn't have it and why? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-jakober/all-of-my-work-is-in-one-way-or-another-about-power-who-has-it-and/) [Marie Jakober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-jakober/) > [Less power to religion, the greater power to knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hypatia-bradlaugh-bonner/less-power-to-religion-the-greater-power-to-knowledge/) [Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hypatia-bradlaugh-bonner/) > [History makes the point time and time again No greater mischief can be created than to merge the power of religion with the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowell-p-weicker-jr/history-makes-the-point-time-and-time-again-no-greater-mischief-can/) [Lowell P. Weicker, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lowell-p-weicker-jr/) > [I believe more in the power of drama than in the power of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-harrison/i-believe-more-in-the-power-of-drama-than-in-the-power-of-religion/) [Tony Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-harrison/) > [Christianity isn't dead. It still has the capacity to scare people. It still gives people the creeps, which means there is still some power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/christianity-isn-t-dead-it-still-has-the-capacity-to-scare-people-it/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) > [Religion has no mundane power like nuclear weapons, atom bombs and guns; its dimension is totally different. Religion is not a will to power;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/religion-has-no-mundane-power-like-nuclear-weapons-atom-bombs-and/) [OSHO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [The power that religion has is that you think nothing is random: If there's a tragedy in my life, that's God testing me or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-power-that-religion-has-is-that-you-think-nothing-is-random-if/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## More by Michel de Certeau > [“Far from being writers—founders of their own place, heirs of the peasants of earlier ages now working on the soil of language, diggers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/far-from-being-writers-founders-of-their-own-place-heirs-of-the/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [Everyday life invents itself by poaching in countless ways on the property of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/everyday-life-invents-itself-by-poaching-in-countless-ways-on-the/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [The sick man is taken away by the institution that takes charge not of the individual, but of his illness, an isolated object transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/the-sick-man-is-taken-away-by-the-institution-that-takes-charge-not/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [ “His \[the pedestrian's\] elevation transfigures him into a voyeur. It puts his at a distance. It transforms the bewitching world by which one was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/his-the-pedestrian-s-elevation-transfigures-him-into-a-voyeur-it-puts/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [To walk is to lack a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/to-walk-is-to-lack-a-place/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [First, if it is true that a spatial order organizes an ensemble of possibilities (e.g., by a place in which one can move) and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/first-if-it-is-true-that-a-spatial-order-organizes-an-ensemble-of/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [A place (lieu) is the order (of whatever kind) in accord with which elements are distributed in relationships of coexistence. It thus excludes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/a-place-lieu-is-the-order-of-whatever-kind-in-accord-with-which/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [“I lettori sono viaggiatori: circolano sulle terre altrui.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/i-lettori-sono-viaggiatori-circolano-sulle-terre-altrui/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [When he grew old, Aristotle, who is not generally considered a tightrope dancer, liked to lose himself in the most labyrinthine and subtle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/when-he-grew-old-aristotle-who-is-not-generally-considered-a/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [“Their story begins on ground level, with footsteps. They are myriad, but do not compose a series. They cannot be counted because each unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/their-story-begins-on-ground-level-with-footsteps-they-are-myriad-but/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [“Finally, the functionalist organization, by privileging progress (i.e. time), causes the condition of its own possibility--space itself--to be forgotten: space thus becomes the blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/finally-the-functionalist-organization-by-privileging-progress-i-e/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [One is a socialist because one used to be one, no longer going to demonstrations, attending meetings, sending in one's dues, in short, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/one-is-a-socialist-because-one-used-to-be-one-no-longer-going-to/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [The panorama-city is a 'theoretical' (that is, visual) simulacrum, in short a picture, whose condition of possibility is an oblivion and a misunderstanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/the-panorama-city-is-a-theoretical-that-is-visual-simulacrum-in-short/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [Along with the lazy man... the dying man is the immoral man: the former, a subject that does not work; the latter, an object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/along-with-the-lazy-man-the-dying-man-is-the-immoral-man-the-former-a/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [ It is as though the practices organizing a bustling city were characterized by \[city practitioners', everyday citizens'\] blindness. The neworks of these moving, intersecting… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/it-is-as-though-the-practices-organizing-a-bustling-city-were/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) [Explore all 42 Michel de Certeau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“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/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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