--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you have a faith, it is statistically…" description: "\"If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly likely that it is the same faith as your parents and grandparents had. No doubt soaring cathedr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg" --- # If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly… ![“If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly likely that it is the same faith as your parents and grandparents had. No doubt soaring cathedrals, stirring music, moving stories and parables, help a bit. But by far the most important variable determining your religion is the accident of…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg) > “If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly likely that it is the same faith as your parents and grandparents had. No doubt soaring cathedrals, stirring music, moving stories and parables, help a bit. But by far the most important variable determining your religion is the accident of birth. The convictions that you so passionately believe would have been a completely different, and largely contradictory, set of convictions, if only you had happened to be born in a different place.” [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. Religious belief is largely inherited; birth location heavily influences faith, making personal conviction often a product of circumstance. **In simple terms:** Faith is often inherited, not chosen. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of upbringing in belief. Themes religion inheritance culture Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - family upbringing - education - community influence - personal identity Key Concepts sociology determinism Questions to Reflect On - How would your worldview change if you were born elsewhere? - Can you separate cultural influence from personal conviction? A Different Perspective Beliefs can be deeply personal despite statistical trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Cathedrals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals/) [Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Determining Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determining-religion-3860343/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-place/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Faith Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-parents-1350341/) [Faith Statistically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-statistically-5805643/) [Grandparent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandparent/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [No doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-doubt/) [Parables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parables/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents and grandparents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-and-grandparents/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-accident-3860342/) [Soar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soar/) [Stirring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stirring/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Variables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variables/) ## Related quotes > [No doubt soaring cathedrals, stirring music, moving stories and parables, help a bit. But by far the most important variable determining your religion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/no-doubt-soaring-cathedrals-stirring-music-moving-stories-and/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“She had been raised in a house full of faith, and her parents had obviously instilled unusual confidence in her. She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-grady/she-had-been-raised-in-a-house-full-of-faith-and-her-parents-had/) [J. Lee Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lee-grady/) > [I love my own culture. I love my African-American culture very deeply, and I know it deserves to be honored. You have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-love-my-own-culture-i-love-my-african-american-culture-very-deeply/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [In Western Pennsylvania, our parents and grandparents left us a strong system of roads, rails, bridges, locks, dams, streetcars, and more - an investment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-lamb/in-western-pennsylvania-our-parents-and-grandparents-left-us-a-strong/) [Conor Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-lamb/) > [Leaders inspire us because they bring out the best in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/leaders-inspire-us-because-they-bring-out-the-best-in-us/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [I am naturally cautious so I guess I am a saver. I'm a firm believer in not borrowing money, which is a lesson passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lock/i-am-naturally-cautious-so-i-guess-i-am-a-saver-i-m-a-firm-believer/) [Sean Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lock/) > [I live in southern Appalachia, so I'm surrounded by people who work very hard for barely a living wage. It's particularly painful that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-live-in-southern-appalachia-so-i-m-surrounded-by-people-who-work/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“I never doubted I would have a roof over my head, a school to go to, enough to to eat, books (and newspapers) to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-clinton/i-never-doubted-i-would-have-a-roof-over-my-head-a-school-to-go-to/) [Chelsea Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-clinton/) > [What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/what-children-need-most-are-the-essentials-that-grandparents-provide/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-seattle/you-must-teach-your-children-that-the-ground-beneath-their-feet-is/) [Chief Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-seattle/) > [So many people don't realise you need to be on a certain level of Maslow's hierarchy to have a dream: you have to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-marie-tran/so-many-people-don-t-realise-you-need-to-be-on-a-certain-level-of/) [Kelly Marie Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-marie-tran/) > [Her grandmother, as she gets older, is not fading but rather becoming more concentrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-alden/her-grandmother-as-she-gets-older-is-not-fading-but-rather-becoming/) [Paulette Alden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-alden/) > [Young people have to learn in a cocoon filled with false optimism. Unlike their parents and grandparents, they grow up with very little sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/young-people-have-to-learn-in-a-cocoon-filled-with-false-optimism/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [The way that I feel about my Jewish identity has been really radically changed by events in life. Like, becoming a writer is one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-way-that-i-feel-about-my-jewish-identity-has-been-really/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## 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 Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/) [Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) [Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly likely that it is the same faith as your parents and grandparents had. No doubt soaring cathedrals, stirring music, moving stories and parables, help a bit. But by far the most important variable determining your religion is the accident of birth. The convictions that you so passionately believe would have been a completely different, and largely contradictory, set of convictions, if only you had happened to be born in a different place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically-overwhelmingly-likely-that-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accidents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically-overwhelmingly-likely-that-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/richard-dawkins-115_accidents_if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically_2365294.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly likely that it is the same faith as your parents and…” — 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 you have a faith, it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically-overwhelmingly-likely-that-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-you-have-a-faith-it-is-statistically-overwhelmingly-likely-that-it/#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 } } ] } ```