--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am so much a Unitarian as this: that I…" description: "\"I am so much a Unitarian as this: that I believe the human mind can admit but one God, and that every effort to pay religious homage to more than one b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_believe_i-am-so-much-a-unitarian-as-this-that-i_1381856.jpg" --- # I am so much a Unitarian as this: that I believe the human… ![“I am so much a Unitarian as this: that I believe the human mind can admit but one God, and that every effort to pay religious homage to more than one being goes to take away all right ideas.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_believe_i-am-so-much-a-unitarian-as-this-that-i_1381856.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_believe_i-am-so-much-a-unitarian-as-this-that-i_1381856.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_believe_i-am-so-much-a-unitarian-as-this-that-i_1381856.jpg) > “I am so much a Unitarian as this: that I believe the human mind can admit but one God, and that every effort to pay religious homage to more than one being goes to take away all right ideas.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emerson argues that true belief in a single divine source preserves the purity of ideas, rejecting multiple deities. **In simple terms:** Believing in one God keeps ideas pure. Key Takeaway Focus on a single spiritual truth. Themes religion monotheism intellectual purity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical religious When to use this quote - personal reflection - public discourse - educational curricula Key Concepts theology philosophy of mind ethical consistency Questions to Reflect On - How does monotheism shape moral reasoning? - Can pluralistic belief systems coexist with intellectual integrity? A Different Perspective Multiple deities can dilute moral clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Homage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homage/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Right ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-ideas/) [Unitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unitarian/) ## Related quotes > [I knew a witty physician who found theology in the biliary duct, and used to affirm that if there was a disease in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-knew-a-witty-physician-who-found-theology-in-the-biliary-duct-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Most Jews do not like to admit it, but our god is Lucifer... and we are his chosen people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-wallace-rosenthal/most-jews-do-not-like-to-admit-it-but-our-god-is-lucifer-and-we-are/) [Harold Wallace Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-wallace-rosenthal/) > [“Be still, and know that I am God'. We must not interpret that 'Be still' in a sentimental manner. Some regard it as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god-we-must-not-interpret-that-be-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am not agnostic. I am atheist. I don’t think there is no God; I know there’s no God. I know there’s no God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-carolla/i-am-not-agnostic-i-am-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-is-no-god-i-know/) [Adam Carolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-carolla/) > [“For several decades, I said I believed in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and had put my confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-ramsey/for-several-decades-i-said-i-believed-in-god-the-father-god-the-son/) [Shelley Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-ramsey/) > [People are even more reluctant to admit that man explains nothing, than they were to admit that God explains nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gellner/people-are-even-more-reluctant-to-admit-that-man-explains-nothing/) [Ernest Gellner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gellner/) > [But if we admit God, must we admit Miracle? Indeed, indeed, you have no security against it. That is the bargain. Theology says to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/but-if-we-admit-god-must-we-admit-miracle-indeed-indeed-you-have-no/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I admit god I'm weak but I know I have you lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-johnson/i-admit-god-i-m-weak-but-i-know-i-have-you-lord/) [Natalya Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-johnson/) > [Perhaps we will one day be able at least to admit of a God possessing sufficient majesty and expansiveness to transcend the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tattersall/perhaps-we-will-one-day-be-able-at-least-to-admit-of-a-god-possessing/) [Ian Tattersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tattersall/) > [The greatest homage to truth is to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-greatest-homage-to-truth-is-to-use-it/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ \[on Thoreau:\] For not a particle of respect had he to the opinions of any man or body of men, but homage solely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/on-thoreau-for-not-a-particle-of-respect-had-he-to-the-opinions-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The affirmative class monopolize the homage of mankind. They originate and execute all the great feats. What a force was coiled upin the skull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-affirmative-class-monopolize-the-homage-of-mankind-they-originate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We imperatively require a perception of and a homage to beauty in our companions. Other virtues are in request in the field and workyard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-imperatively-require-a-perception-of-and-a-homage-to-beauty-in-our/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There is no country in which so absolute a homage is paid to wealth. In America there is a touch of shame when a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-country-in-which-so-absolute-a-homage-is-paid-to-wealth/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People are ready to take the good things into their minds! Give them good and right ideas; they will immediately take them as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/people-are-ready-to-take-the-good-things-into-their-minds-give-them/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. 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When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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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