--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we should all wince when we hear…" description: "\"“I think we should all wince when we hear a small child being labelled as belonging to some particular religion or another. Small children are too youn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/richard-dawkins-115_children_i-think-we-should-all-wince-when-we-hear_147678.jpg" --- # I think we should all wince when we hear a small child… ![“I think we should all wince when we hear a small child being labelled as belonging to some particular religion or another. Small children are too young to decide their views on the origins of the cosmos, or life and of morals. The very sound of the phrase 'Christian child' or 'Muslim child' should…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/richard-dawkins-115_children_i-think-we-should-all-wince-when-we-hear_147678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/richard-dawkins-115_children_i-think-we-should-all-wince-when-we-hear_147678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/richard-dawkins-115_children_i-think-we-should-all-wince-when-we-hear_147678.jpg) > ““I think we should all wince when we hear a small child being labelled as belonging to some particular religion or another. Small children are too young to decide their views on the origins of the cosmos, or life and of morals. The very sound of the phrase 'Christian child' or 'Muslim child' should grate like fingernails on a blackboard.”” [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. Labeling children by religion is inappropriate, as they are too young to form such complex beliefs. **In simple terms:** Assigning religious labels to kids is wrong. Key Takeaway Avoid early religious labeling. Themes religion childhood identity ethics Mood critical thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - education - parenting - media representation - policy making Key Concepts labeling impact developmental psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does early labeling affect self‑concept? - What alternatives exist for inclusive upbringing? A Different Perspective Religion may shape identity later. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child Labelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-labelled-1651344/) [Child Muslim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-muslim-1651342/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Christian Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-child-449738/) [Muslim Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muslim-child-1651343/) [Religion Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-small-1359671/) ## Related quotes > [A child is not a Christian child, not a Muslim child, but a child of Christian parents or a child of Muslim parents. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-child-is-not-a-christian-child-not-a-muslim-child-but-a-child-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“That is not a Muslim child, but a child of Muslim parents. That child is too young to know whether it is a Muslim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/that-is-not-a-muslim-child-but-a-child-of-muslim-parents-that-child/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Our society, including the non-religious sector, has accepted the preposterous idea that it is normal and right to indoctrinate tiny children in the religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/our-society-including-the-non-religious-sector-has-accepted-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It is immoral to brand children with religion. 'This is a Catholic child.' 'That is a Muslim child.' I want everyone to flinch when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-is-immoral-to-brand-children-with-religion-this-is-a-catholic/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“There is no such thing as a Christian child: only a child of Christian parents. Seize every opportunity to ram it home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-christian-child-only-a-child-of-christian-2/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [There is no such thing as a Christian child: only a child of Christian parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-christian-child-only-a-child-of-christian/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-believe-that-in-pretty-much-every-religion-there-is-always-a-small/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [...we will arrange for 'religion' to become a small subdepartment of ordinary life; it will be quite safe - harmless, in fact - with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-will-arrange-for-religion-to-become-a-small-subdepartment-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A religion that is small enough for our understanding would not be big enough for our needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/a-religion-that-is-small-enough-for-our-understanding-would-not-be/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [To teach your child to only be a Muslim in Muslim spaces or only a Christian in Christian spaces means in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/to-teach-your-child-to-only-be-a-muslim-in-muslim-spaces-or-only-a/) [Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/) > [“The Christian, the child of God, the Christ man who has committed his body as well as his spirit and soul to God, ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-lake/the-christian-the-child-of-god-the-christ-man-who-has-committed-his/) [John G. Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-lake/) > [She said, tell me, are you a Christian, child? I said, Ma'am, I am tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-cohn/she-said-tell-me-are-you-a-christian-child-i-said-ma-am-i-am-tonight/) [Marc Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-cohn/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) ## 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. 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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 Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. 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