--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Distrust your religion unless it is…" description: "\"Distrust your religion unless it is cheerful, unless it turns every act and deed to music and exults in attempts to catch the harmony of the new life.‎..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png" --- # Distrust your religion unless it is cheerful, unless it… ![“Distrust your religion unless it is cheerful, unless it turns every act and deed to music and exults in attempts to catch the harmony of the new life.‎” quote by Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png) > “Distrust your religion unless it is cheerful, unless it turns every act and deed to music and exults in attempts to catch the harmony of the new life.‎” [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion should be embraced only if it brings joy, turns actions into harmonious expression, and celebrates new life. **In simple terms:** Only follow faith that makes life joyful and harmonious. Key Takeaway Seek joy in belief and practice. Themes faith joy harmony spirituality Mood reflective inspirational contemplative Type philosophical spiritual motivational When to use this quote - personal worship - community gatherings - creative arts - daily routines Key Concepts theology existentialism aestheticism Questions to Reflect On - Does your faith inspire joy? - How can you find harmony in everyday actions? A Different Perspective If religion feels oppressive, it may still hold value for moral guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [New life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-life/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [When believers and unbelievers live in the same manner - I distrust the religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-believers-and-unbelievers-live-in-the-same-manner-i-distrust-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-would-not-give-much-for-your-religion-unless-it-can-be-seen-lamps/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The very fact that religions are not content to stand on their own feet, but insist on crippling or warping the flexible minds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-very-fact-that-religions-are-not-content-to-stand-on-their-own/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“The grand point is not to wear the garb, nor use the brogue of religion, but to process the life of God within, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-grand-point-is-not-to-wear-the-garb-nor-use-the-brogue-of/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Nobody can change your religion unless you want to and God gives you the grace. It's between you and God alone. Nobody can force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/nobody-can-change-your-religion-unless-you-want-to-and-god-gives-you/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [ It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, \[but\] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/it-s-sad-if-people-think-that-s-homemaking-a-dull-existance-but-you/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Well, we can ride together for a while longer. The highway south is farther along this way. I'll be glad of some cheerful company."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-we-can-ride-together-for-a-while-longer-the-highway-south-is/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/to-my-mind-a-picture-should-be-something-pleasant-cheerful-and-pretty/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/bright-reds-scarlet-pillar-box-red-crimson-or-cherry-are-very/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) > [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) ## More by Phillips Brooks > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/christmas-day-is-a-day-of-joy-and-charity-may-god-make-you-very-rich/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Preaching is truth through personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/preaching-is-truth-through-personality/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/nothing-lies-beyond-the-reach-of-prayer-except-that-which-lies/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Everywhere the flower of obedience is intelligence. Obey a man with cordial loyalty and you will understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/everywhere-the-flower-of-obedience-is-intelligence-obey-a-man-with/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/o-do-not-pray-for-easy-lives-pray-to-be-stronger-men-do-not-pray-for/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [So shall we join the disciples of our Lord, keeping faith in Him in spite of the crucifixion, and making ready, by our loyalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/so-shall-we-join-the-disciples-of-our-lord-keeping-faith-in-him-in/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-trouble-is-that-i-m-in-a-hurry-but-god-isn-t/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-truest-help-we-can-render-an-afflicted-man-is-not-to-take-his/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [“The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously--is not that we shall make an absolute failure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-danger-facing-all-of-us-let-me-say-it-again-for-one-feels-it/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [There is a necessary limit to our achievement, but none to our attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/there-is-a-necessary-limit-to-our-achievement-but-none-to-our-attempt/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Character - Some day, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/character-some-day-you-will-be-wrestling-with-the-great-temptation-or/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The essential tendency of life is toward happiness . . . . Optimism is the only true condition for a reasonable man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-essential-tendency-of-life-is-toward-happiness-optimism-is-the/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [To find his place and fill it is success for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/to-find-his-place-and-fill-it-is-success-for-a-man/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [It is God's world still. It has been given to man not absolutely, but in trust, that man may work out in it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/it-is-god-s-world-still-it-has-been-given-to-man-not-absolutely-but/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) [Explore all 153 Phillips Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) ## More Cheerful quotes > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) > [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/bright-reds-scarlet-pillar-box-red-crimson-or-cherry-are-very/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/to-my-mind-a-picture-should-be-something-pleasant-cheerful-and-pretty/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Well, we can ride together for a while longer. The highway south is farther along this way. I'll be glad of some cheerful company."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-we-can-ride-together-for-a-while-longer-the-highway-south-is/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [ It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, \[but\] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/it-s-sad-if-people-think-that-s-homemaking-a-dull-existance-but-you/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [When I was about 17, I had a row with my mother and left home for six months, renting a flat and working as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robinson/when-i-was-about-17-i-had-a-row-with-my-mother-and-left-home-for-six/) [Anne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robinson/) > [Children ask better questions than adults. "May I have a cookie?" "Why is the sky blue?" and "What does a cow say?" are far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/children-ask-better-questions-than-adults-may-i-have-a-cookie-why-is/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-was-broken-in-body-soul-and-spirit-my-natural-elasticity-was/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Love is a very contradiction of all the elements of our ordinary nature -- it makes the proud man meek -- the cheerful, sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/love-is-a-very-contradiction-of-all-the-elements-of-our-ordinary/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [To bear adversity with meek submission to the will of God; to endure chastisement with all long-suffering and joyfulness; to appear cheerful amid surrounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-angell-james/to-bear-adversity-with-meek-submission-to-the-will-of-god-to-endure/) [John Angell James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-angell-james/) [Browse all 600 Cheerful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Distrust your religion unless it is cheerful, unless it turns every act and deed to music and exults in attempts to catch the harmony of the new life.‎", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Phillips Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-cheerful-unless-it-turns-every/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheerful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-cheerful-unless-it-turns-every/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/phillips-brooks-2696_cheerful_distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-chee_1670202.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Distrust your religion unless it is cheerful, unless it turns every act and deed to music and exults in…” — Phillips Brooks", "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": "Phillips Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Distrust your religion unless it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-cheerful-unless-it-turns-every/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/distrust-your-religion-unless-it-is-cheerful-unless-it-turns-every/#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 } } ] } ```