--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that the Bible as literature…" description: "\"I think that the Bible as literature should be a compulsory part of the national curriculum.. you can't understand English literature and culture witho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/richard-dawkins-115_believe_i-think-that-the-bible-as-literature-sho_481709.jpg" --- # I think that the Bible as literature should be a… ![“I think that the Bible as literature should be a compulsory part of the national curriculum.. you can't understand English literature and culture without it. But insofar as theology studies the nature of the divine, it will earn the right to be taken seriously when it provides the slightest…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/richard-dawkins-115_believe_i-think-that-the-bible-as-literature-sho_481709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/richard-dawkins-115_believe_i-think-that-the-bible-as-literature-sho_481709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/richard-dawkins-115_believe_i-think-that-the-bible-as-literature-sho_481709.jpg) > “I think that the Bible as literature should be a compulsory part of the national curriculum.. you can't understand English literature and culture without it. But insofar as theology studies the nature of the divine, it will earn the right to be taken seriously when it provides the slightest, smallest smidgen of a reason for believing in the existence of the divine. Meanwhile, we should devote as much time to studying serious theology as we devote to studying serious fairies and serious unicorns.” [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. Studying the Bible as literature is essential for cultural literacy; serious theology must provide rational evidence for belief. **In simple terms:** Bible needed for culture; theology needs proof. Key Takeaway Study literature, demand evidence. Themes education culture faith reason Mood analytical critical Type academic controversial When to use this quote - school curricula - public debates - personal belief formation - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts secularism literary analysis theology Questions to Reflect On - Should literature be taught without endorsing its worldview? - Can faith be studied purely academically? A Different Perspective Some argue cultural study can be secular without endorsing belief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Belive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belive/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Bible Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible-literature-1836012/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Compulsory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsory/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Curriculum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curriculum/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [English Lit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-lit/) [English literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-literature/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Compulsory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-compulsory-4141178/) [National Curriculum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-curriculum-3093364/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Smallest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smallest/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Theology Devote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology-devote-4141179/) [Think Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-bible-943638/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unicorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unicorn/) ## Related quotes > [Whether you interpret the Bible as literature or as the final word of whatever God may be, Christianity has given us an image of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/whether-you-interpret-the-bible-as-literature-or-as-the-final-word-of/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [I am trying to get permaculture on to the national curriculum to teach children how to take care of their own health, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bez/i-am-trying-to-get-permaculture-on-to-the-national-curriculum-to/) [Bez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bez/) > [To know that the Bible is the literature of a barbarous people, to know that it is uninspired, to be certain that the supernatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/to-know-that-the-bible-is-the-literature-of-a-barbarous-people-to/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [For this reason, to study English literature without some general knowledge of the relation of the Bible to that literature would be to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/for-this-reason-to-study-english-literature-without-some-general/) [Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/) > [I want enterprise and entrepreneurship embedded in the national curriculum and will continue to lobby government until it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jones/i-want-enterprise-and-entrepreneurship-embedded-in-the-national/) [Peter Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jones/) > [The Bible is literature, not dogma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-bible-is-literature-not-dogma/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Instead of a national curriculum for education, what is really needed is an individual curriculum for every child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-handy/instead-of-a-national-curriculum-for-education-what-is-really-needed/) [Charles Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-handy/) > [Financial education needs to become a part of our national curriculum and scoring systems so that it's not just the rich kids that learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bach/financial-education-needs-to-become-a-part-of-our-national-curriculum/) [David Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bach/) > [ I wasn't reading it \[the Bible\] as literature. I was reading it as literature, and as history, and as a moral guide, and as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-plotz/i-wasn-t-reading-it-the-bible-as-literature-i-was-reading-it-as/) [David Plotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-plotz/) > [Given the state of English schools in the 1970s, a national curriculum, Ofsted, regular testing, publication of performance results, have all helped to raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/given-the-state-of-english-schools-in-the-1970s-a-national-curriculum/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I doubt that religion can survive deep understanding. The shallows are its natural habitat. Cranks and fundamentalists are too often victimised as scapegoats for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-doubt-that-religion-can-survive-deep-understanding-the-shallows-are/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I think the important thing to learn is that we can retain a sentimental loyalty to the cultural and literary traditions of, say, Judaism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-the-important-thing-to-learn-is-that-we-can-retain-a/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Most people, I believe, think that you need a God to explain the existence of the world, and especially the existence of life. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/most-people-i-believe-think-that-you-need-a-god-to-explain-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [There's this thing called being so open-minded your brains drop out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/there-s-this-thing-called-being-so-open-minded-your-brains-drop-out/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Q: But what do you think that the Bible, itself, says? Don't you know how it was arrived at? A: I never made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scopes-trial/q-but-what-do-you-think-that-the-bible-itself-says-don-t-you-know-how/) [Scopes Trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scopes-trial/) ## 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. 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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. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. 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. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that the Bible as literature should be a compulsory part of the national curriculum.. you can't understand English literature and culture without it. But insofar as theology studies the nature of the divine, it will earn the right to be taken seriously when it provides the slightest, smallest smidgen of a reason for believing in the existence of the divine. 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