--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God is an idea that people believe in and…" description: "\"God is an idea that people believe in and I spend time arguing with people that subscribe to that idea(man made idea).\" — Richard Dawkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg" --- # God is an idea that people believe in and I spend time… ![“God is an idea that people believe in and I spend time arguing with people that subscribe to that idea(man made idea).” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg) > “God is an idea that people believe in and I spend time arguing with people that subscribe to that idea(man made idea).” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas about deities are human constructs, and debates over them can be endless and unproductive. **In simple terms:** God is a human idea; arguing about it often leads nowhere. Key Takeaway Focus on shared values instead of endless theological debate. Themes religion belief debate human nature Mood thoughtful critical curious Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - philosophical discussions - interfaith dialogues - personal reflection - online forums - academic seminars Key Concepts theism skepticism social cognition Questions to Reflect On - What common ground can be found beyond belief? - How does belief shape identity? A Different Perspective Arguments may stall progress if participants cling to identity‑based positions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-times/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Most leaders spend time trying to get others to think highly of them, when instead they should try to get their people to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/most-leaders-spend-time-trying-to-get-others-to-think-highly-of-them-2/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [No one trusts me any more. I spent half the movie Maigret (1988) (TV) arguing with people and I was accused of causing big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harris/no-one-trusts-me-any-more-i-spent-half-the-movie-maigret-1988-tv/) [Richard Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harris/) > [Arguing with people is like reading your e-mail at 4 in the morning. There is absolutely no good that can come of it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/arguing-with-people-is-like-reading-your-e-mail-at-4-in-the-morning/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [Which is more stubborn, the love or the two arguing people caught within it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/which-is-more-stubborn-the-love-or-the-two-arguing-people-caught/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“It was useless arguing with people like her. They had stereotyped minds that ran along grooves of stock response and the commonplace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-rendell/it-was-useless-arguing-with-people-like-her-they-had-stereotyped/) [Ruth Rendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-rendell/) > [If you spend all your time arguing with people who are nuts, you'll be exhausted and the nuts will still be nuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-spend-all-your-time-arguing-with-people-who-are-nuts-you-ll-be/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/i-never-make-the-mistake-of-arguing-with-people-for-whose-opinions-i/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Arguing against people who control the terms of debate is a hard task, and in a way exponents of diversity have achieved a tremendous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-west/arguing-against-people-who-control-the-terms-of-debate-is-a-hard-task/) [Ed West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-west/) > [Instead of focusing on arguing with people who say no, it might be easier to get near the people who like to say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/instead-of-focusing-on-arguing-with-people-who-say-no-it-might-be/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“If I'm right -- and I know that you know I right -- I'm not going to continue going back and forth with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-e-quinones-miller/if-i-m-right-and-i-know-that-you-know-i-right-i-m-not-going-to/) [Karen E. Quinones Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-e-quinones-miller/) > [When each elder or pastor has his will aligned with the Lord's, we waste no time arguing for our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/when-each-elder-or-pastor-has-his-will-aligned-with-the-lord-s-we/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [The plain truth is we are going to die. Here I am, a teeny spec surrounded by boundless space and time, arguing with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-plain-truth-is-we-are-going-to-die-here-i-am-a-teeny-spec/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [It's a waste of time arguing with a fool because if you do, you will only end up making yourself one too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/it-s-a-waste-of-time-arguing-with-a-fool-because-if-you-do-you-will/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) > [Stop! Wasting time on facebook. It's bad. Wasting time on arguing with people, that dislikes what you love is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-wasting-time-on-facebook-it-s-bad-wasting-time-on-arguing-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/waste-no-more-time-arguing-about-what-a-good-man-should-be-be-one/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fasting-is-required-staying-away-from-fighting-and-arguing-and/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [The problem for the Left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the Right as vile, it has to argue the issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-problem-for-the-left-however-is-that-the-moment-it-stops-painting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [You can argue that the Terminator movies reboot their world each time they go back in time, but that doesn't negate the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hayter/you-can-argue-that-the-terminator-movies-reboot-their-world-each-time/) [David Hayter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hayter/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm a very serious person, but I don't take myself very seriously and I would rather laugh all day than argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-m-a-very-serious-person-but-i-don-t-take-myself-very-seriously-and/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) Browse all 1,908 Arguing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God is an idea that people believe in and I spend time arguing with people that subscribe to that idea(man made idea).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-and-i-spend-time-arguing-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arguing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-and-i-spend-time-arguing-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/richard-dawkins-115_arguing_god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-an_3085489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“God is an idea that people believe in and I spend time arguing with people that subscribe to that idea(man…” — Richard Dawkins", "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": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "God is an idea that people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-and-i-spend-time-arguing-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/god-is-an-idea-that-people-believe-in-and-i-spend-time-arguing-with/#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 } } ] } ```