--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our religious institutions are not giving…" description: "\"“Our religious institutions are not giving very many men access to credible encounters with the holy or even with their own wholeness. We largely give ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/richard-rohr-618_discipleship_our-religious-institutions-are-not-givin_464500.png" --- # Our religious institutions are not giving very many men… ![“Our religious institutions are not giving very many men access to credible encounters with the holy or even with their own wholeness. We largely give men mandates, signposts, scaffolding and appealing images that tend to create religious identity and boundaries, but from the outside.” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/richard-rohr-618_discipleship_our-religious-institutions-are-not-givin_464500.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/richard-rohr-618_discipleship_our-religious-institutions-are-not-givin_464500.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/richard-rohr-618_discipleship_our-religious-institutions-are-not-givin_464500.png) > ““Our religious institutions are not giving very many men access to credible encounters with the holy or even with their own wholeness. We largely give men mandates, signposts, scaffolding and appealing images that tend to create religious identity and boundaries, but from the outside.”” [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many religious structures provide external symbols and rules rather than deep personal experiences of the sacred, limiting men’s sense of wholeness. **In simple terms:** Religious institutions often focus on identity over personal sacred experience. Key Takeaway Seek direct, personal encounters with the sacred. Themes spirituality masculinity religion identity wholeness Mood reflective hopeful inquisitive Type advice philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - spiritual retreats - counseling - ritual practice - creative expression Key Concepts existential authenticity inner development community building Questions to Reflect On - How can men cultivate personal sacred experiences within existing institutions? - What role do community rituals play in personal wholeness? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of communal traditions that support growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Create Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-religious-4028101/) [Discipleship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipleship/) [Legalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legalism/) [Masculinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masculinity/) [Men Mandates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-mandates-4028100/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-identity/) [Religious Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-institutions-2112549/) ## Related quotes > [The United States didn't create religious liberty. Religious liberty created the United States of America. It's the reason we are here today. 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Thus, for example, justice without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-love-is-the-soul-of-christian-existence-it-must-be-at-the-heart-of/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The days of discriminating against religious institutions simply because they are religious must come to an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-days-of-discriminating-against-religious-institutions-simply/) [George W. 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I think the Christian religion that I was brought up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gere/i-think-most-of-our-religious-institutions-are-pretty-corrupt-so-they/) [Richard Gere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gere/) > [Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/religious-institutions-that-use-government-power-in-support-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When you see a Donald Trump and a Bernie Sanders, very unconventional candidates, have considerable success, then obviously there's something there that's being tapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/when-you-see-a-donald-trump-and-a-bernie-sanders-very-unconventional/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Not all Muslims wish to express themselves in public through a communal religious identity. Identities are multiple, and some may wish to speak instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maajid-nawaz/not-all-muslims-wish-to-express-themselves-in-public-through-a/) [Maajid Nawaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maajid-nawaz/) > [We are undermining a generation's happiness by depriving them of national identity, religious identity, and gender identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/we-are-undermining-a-generation-s-happiness-by-depriving-them-of/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) ## More by Richard Rohr > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. 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You must stay disciplined because most of the work is behind the scenes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/there-is-no-shortcut-for-hard-work-that-leads-to-effectiveness-you/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“Christian discipleship is a decision to walk in his ways, steadily and firmly, and then finding that the way integrates all our interests, passions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-peterson/christian-discipleship-is-a-decision-to-walk-in-his-ways-steadily-and/) [Eugene Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-peterson/) > [“(Bonhoeffer's) change was not an ungainly, embarrassing leap from which he would have to retreat slightly when he gained more maturity and perspective. 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Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [We even talked like Hemingway characters, though in travesty, as if to deny our discipleship: That is your bed, and it is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/we-even-talked-like-hemingway-characters-though-in-travesty-as-if-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [You cannot impart what you do not possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/you-cannot-impart-what-you-do-not-possess/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [Your strengths develop your confidence; your weaknesses develop your faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/your-strengths-develop-your-confidence-your-weaknesses-develop-your/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [Discipleship' as a term has lost its content, and this is one reason why it has been moved aside. 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