--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am against religion because it teaches…" description: "\"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.\" — Richard Dawkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg" --- # I am against religion because it teaches us to be… ![“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg) > “I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.” [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. Religion can discourage curiosity by promoting acceptance of mysteries without inquiry. **In simple terms:** Religion may limit questioning. Key Takeaway Encourage critical thinking. Themes skepticism science faith education Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - school curricula - public policy debates - personal belief reflection Key Concepts Epistemology dogma intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty affect your worldview? - Can faith and curiosity coexist? A Different Perspective Some find comfort in mystery, making change difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-the-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Religion teaches you to be satisfied with nonanswers. It’s a sort of crime against childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religion-teaches-you-to-be-satisfied-with-nonanswers-it-s-a-sort-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“As your perspective of the world increases not only is the pain it inflicts on you less but also its meaning. Understanding the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/as-your-perspective-of-the-world-increases-not-only-is-the-pain-it/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [“Books, purchasable at low cost, permit us to interrogate the past with high accuracy; to tap the wisdom of our species; to understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-purchasable-at-low-cost-permit-us-to-interrogate-the-past-with/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fisher/maps-can-be-a-remarkably-powerful-tool-for-understanding-the-world/) [Max Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fisher/) > [Theology is not only about understanding the world; it is about mending the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-volf/theology-is-not-only-about-understanding-the-world-it-is-about/) [Miroslav Volf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-volf/) > [when a language dies, a way of understanding the world dies with it, a way of looking at the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-language-dies-a-way-of-understanding-the-world-dies-with-it-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As your prospective of the world increases, not only is the pain it inflicts on you less but also its meaning. Understanding the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/as-your-prospective-of-the-world-increases-not-only-is-the-pain-it/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [As your perspective of the world increases not only is the pain it inflicts on you less but also its meaning. Understanding the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/as-your-perspective-of-the-world-increases-not-only-is-the-pain-it-2/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“..the pursuit of knowledge is never for naught. Each line drawn on a map gets us closer to understanding the world and our place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rollins/the-pursuit-of-knowledge-is-never-for-naught-each-line-drawn-on-a-map/) [James Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rollins/) > [Do you know, my son, with what little understanding the world is ruled?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-julius-iii/do-you-know-my-son-with-what-little-understanding-the-world-is-ruled/) Pope Julius III > [The absurd, with its rupture of rationality-of conventional ways of seeing the world-is in fact an accurate and a productive way of understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-absurd-with-its-rupture-of-rationality-of-conventional-ways-of/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [I don't think immortality is necessarily the key to understanding the world. You have to be careful with what you think you're achieving. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/i-don-t-think-immortality-is-necessarily-the-key-to-understanding-the/) [Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/) > [To not know math is a severe limitation to understanding the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/to-not-know-math-is-a-severe-limitation-to-understanding-the-world/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-are-key-to-understanding-the-world-and-participating-in-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“nothing beats books for understanding the world. See”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/nothing-beats-books-for-understanding-the-world-see/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) ## 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 Religion quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“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/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-religion-has-mandated-killing-others-as-a-requirement-for-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) [Browse all 58,737 Religion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches-us-to-be-satisfied-with-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Religion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches-us-to-be-satisfied-with-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/richard-dawkins-115_religion_i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches_1815196.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.” — 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": "I am against religion because it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches-us-to-be-satisfied-with-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-am-against-religion-because-it-teaches-us-to-be-satisfied-with-not/#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 } } ] } ```