--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If children were taught to question and…" description: "\"If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is a goo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg" --- # If children were taught to question and think through… ![“If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is a good bet that there would be no suicide bombers.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg) > “If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is a good bet that there would be no suicide bombers.” [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. Encouraging critical thinking over unexamined faith could reduce extremist violence. **In simple terms:** Teaching questioning may prevent suicide bombers. Key Takeaway Promote inquiry and skepticism. Themes education critical thinking extremism faith violence Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - schools - religious education - counter‑terrorism programs - parental guidance Key Concepts secularism psychology social influence Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster questioning without alienating believers? - What alternatives to faith can fulfill existential needs? A Different Perspective Faith can provide community and purpose, complicating simple solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Suicide bombers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide-bombers/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-children-were-taught-to-question-and-think-through-their-beliefs-2/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Instead of being taught independence, energy, and enterprise, our youth today is taught to look for security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-carroll-reece/instead-of-being-taught-independence-energy-and-enterprise-our-youth/) [B. Carroll Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-carroll-reece/) > [As long as we accept the principle that religious faith must be respected simply because it is religious faith, it is hard to withhold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/as-long-as-we-accept-the-principle-that-religious-faith-must-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [One reason why I recommend the abandonment of religious beliefs is because I think those beliefs are wrong. There is no evidence that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-levay/one-reason-why-i-recommend-the-abandonment-of-religious-beliefs-is/) [Simon LeVay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-levay/) > [It doesn't hurt me. I'm not governed by the fear of what other people say. Events don't elicit feelings; I think beliefs elicit feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kelly/it-doesn-t-hurt-me-i-m-not-governed-by-the-fear-of-what-other-people/) [Chip Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kelly/) > [But that's part of faith. Believing and knowing despite what other people say, and despite what the world might think of your beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/but-that-s-part-of-faith-believing-and-knowing-despite-what-other/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [People often ask me whether I believe in God. I haven't seen God. But I think that one's beliefs are one's God - and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-dev/people-often-ask-me-whether-i-believe-in-god-i-haven-t-seen-god-but-i/) [Kapil Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-dev/) > [John Walker, while he was in Afghanistan, told people his goal was to have four wives. ... Do we need any further proof that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/john-walker-while-he-was-in-afghanistan-told-people-his-goal-was-to/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Officials believe that one of the terrorists was a woman. And there are female suicide bombers. It's just that their reward in paradise is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/officials-believe-that-one-of-the-terrorists-was-a-woman-and-there/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Second-generation Muslims who have lived all their lives in Europe are turning up among the suicide bombers and terrorists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/second-generation-muslims-who-have-lived-all-their-lives-in-europe/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Many of Islam's apologists insist that suicide bombing is not Islamic because the Koran forbids suicide. Mmm-hmm. So where are all the Muslims gathering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-glazov/many-of-islam-s-apologists-insist-that-suicide-bombing-is-not-islamic/) [Jamie Glazov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-glazov/) > [“Many signs point to the fact that the youth of the Third World will no longer tolerate living in circumstances that give them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rom-o-dallaire/many-signs-point-to-the-fact-that-the-youth-of-the-third-world-will/) [Roméo Dallaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rom-o-dallaire/) > [I did a study of soldiers returning from Iraq, and their levels of PTSD were much higher if they had had to shoot a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-bloom/i-did-a-study-of-soldiers-returning-from-iraq-and-their-levels-of/) [Mia Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-bloom/) > [The suicide bombers who struck London on 7 July 2005 killed 52 innocent people and wounded hundreds more. All of them must live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-suicide-bombers-who-struck-london-on-7-july-2005-killed-52/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't just denounce suicide bombers. I denounce those governments which use indiscriminate slaughter to advance their foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/i-don-t-just-denounce-suicide-bombers-i-denounce-those-governments/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) ## 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 Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is a good bet that there would be no suicide bombers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-children-were-taught-to-question-and-think-through-their-beliefs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-children-were-taught-to-question-and-think-through-their-beliefs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/richard-dawkins-115_belief_if-children-were-taught-to-question-and_1397734.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior…” — 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": "If children were taught to question...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-children-were-taught-to-question-and-think-through-their-beliefs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-children-were-taught-to-question-and-think-through-their-beliefs/#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 } } ] } ```