---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though churches may lose political…"
description: "\"“Though churches may lose political influence under Christian states or in predominantly Christian societies, though they might be secularized, they do..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg"
---

#  Though churches may lose political influence under…

![“Though churches may lose political influence under Christian states or in predominantly Christian societies, though they might be secularized, they do not vanish anything like as thoroughly as in the African and Asian examples mentioned. In most of these cases, churches collapsed or vanished…” quote by Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg)

> ““Though churches may lose political influence under Christian states or in predominantly Christian societies, though they might be secularized, they do not vanish anything like as thoroughly as in the African and Asian examples mentioned. In most of these cases, churches collapsed or vanished because they were unable to cope with the pressures placed upon them by hostile regimes, mainly Muslim. While religions might sicken and fade, they do not die of their own accord: they must be killed.””

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Religions persist unless actively suppressed; they rarely disappear on their own.

**In simple terms:** Religions only die when killed.

Key Takeaway

Protect religious freedom.

Themes

religion politics culture conflict

Mood

concerned reflective

Type

analytical historical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- interfaith dialogue
- human rights advocacy
- education on religious tolerance

Key Concepts

secularization state pressure hostile regimes

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies protect religious groups from hostile regimes?
- What factors cause a religion to fade without external pressure?

A Different Perspective

Religions can survive even under oppression, but may be weakened.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [“Looking at the sweep of Christian history, we are often reminded of this message of the transience of human affairs, and, based on that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/looking-at-the-sweep-of-christian-history-we-are-often-reminded-of/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Any acquaintance with recent history made nonsense of any claim that God was on the side of Christian states. As one scholar suggests, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/any-acquaintance-with-recent-history-made-nonsense-of-any-claim-that/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [I don't think it's a good thing to have Christian states, Muslim states, or any kind of ethnic states.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/i-don-t-think-it-s-a-good-thing-to-have-christian-states-muslim/)

[Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/)

> [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/)

[Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/)

> [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/)

[Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/)

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

> [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/)

[Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/)

> [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/)

[Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/)

> [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/)

[Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/)

> [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/)

[Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/)

> [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/)

[Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/)

> [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/)

Davan Yahya Khalil

> [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/)

[Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/)

## More by Philip Jenkins

> [“Yet even when such languages did not face direct official sanction, speakers of older tongues knew that they had little chance of getting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/yet-even-when-such-languages-did-not-face-direct-official-sanction/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Christianity offers similar stories, and the global Christianity that perished in the late Middle Ages has revived in the past century. China offers an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/christianity-offers-similar-stories-and-the-global-christianity-that/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Where the African church failed was in not carrying Christianity beyond the Romanized inhabitants of the cities and the great estates, and not sinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/where-the-african-church-failed-was-in-not-carrying-christianity/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Christians believe that God speaks through history; and only by knowing that history can we hope to interpret momentous events like the Japanese persecutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/christians-believe-that-god-speaks-through-history-and-only-by/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Perhaps theological attempts to explain the destruction of churches or of “Christian nations” are asking the wrong question, if they judge success and failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/perhaps-theological-attempts-to-explain-the-destruction-of-churches/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Another difficulty with the reservation scheme was that it reinforced the popular association of Christianity with foreign imperialism, and thus with enmity to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/another-difficulty-with-the-reservation-scheme-was-that-it-reinforced/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Far from anti-Christian purges ceasing with the official end of war in 1918, they actually intensified during the ensuing war between Greece and Turkey.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/far-from-anti-christian-purges-ceasing-with-the-official-end-of-war/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Middle Eastern Christians, in short, tried every possible tactic to survive and flourish, and their efforts have largely failed. Partly, this is a matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/middle-eastern-christians-in-short-tried-every-possible-tactic-to/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Besides the missionary theology cultivated by many churches, we also need a theology of extinction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/besides-the-missionary-theology-cultivated-by-many-churches-we-also/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Our accepted chronology of the ancient church is wrong: ancient Semitic Christianity dies out not in the fourth century, but in the fourteenth.8”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/our-accepted-chronology-of-the-ancient-church-is-wrong-ancient/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Christianity in this region remained as much a colonists’ religion as it would be once again during the French Empire of the twentieth century,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/christianity-in-this-region-remained-as-much-a-colonists-religion-as/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“Any acquaintance with recent history made nonsense of any claim that God was on the side of Christian states. As one scholar suggests, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/any-acquaintance-with-recent-history-made-nonsense-of-any-claim-that/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“For much of the history of Islam, moreover, the Christian world was not noticeably ahead in political or economic power, or in culture. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/for-much-of-the-history-of-islam-moreover-the-christian-world-was-not/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [“While nobody can pretend that Christian religious practice is thriving in most of Europe, the situation is nothing as grim as some recent accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/while-nobody-can-pretend-that-christian-religious-practice-is/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

> [Religion appears in so many contexts in WW1. Religion shaped the national identities and ambitions of several of the key players, especially Germany and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/religion-appears-in-so-many-contexts-in-ww1-religion-shaped-the/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

[Explore all 65 Philip Jenkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

## More Politics quotes

> [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/)

[Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/)

> [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/)

Davan Yahya Khalil

> [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/)

[Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/)

> [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/)

[Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/)

> [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/)

[Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/)

> [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/)

[Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/)

> [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/)

[Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/)

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

> [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/)

[Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/)

> [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/)

[Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/)

> [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/)

[Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/)

> [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. A man who kills at his government's request is a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramman-kenoun/a-man-who-kills-on-his-own-is-a-murderer-a-man-who-kills-at-his/)

[Ramman Kenoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramman-kenoun/)

> [Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/politics-in-philadelphia-is-a-contact-sport/)

[Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/)

[Browse all 44,914 Politics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Though churches may lose political influence under Christian states or in predominantly Christian societies, though they might be secularized, they do not vanish anything like as thoroughly as in the African and Asian examples mentioned. In most of these cases, churches collapsed or vanished because they were unable to cope with the pressures placed upon them by hostile regimes, mainly Muslim. While religions might sicken and fade, they do not die of their own accord: they must be killed.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Philip Jenkins"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/though-churches-may-lose-political-influence-under-christian-states/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Politics"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/though-churches-may-lose-political-influence-under-christian-states/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/philip-jenkins-10529_politics_though-churches-may-lose-political-influ_2202366.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Though churches may lose political influence under Christian states or in predominantly Christian societies…” — Philip Jenkins",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Philip Jenkins",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Though churches may lose political influence...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/though-churches-may-lose-political-influence-under-christian-states/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/though-churches-may-lose-political-influence-under-christian-states/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
