--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In religion, it is not the sycophants or…" description: "\"In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the insurgents.\" — Rollo May" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/rollo-may-1295_dissent_in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or_73436.jpg" --- # In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling… ![“In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the insurgents.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/rollo-may-1295_dissent_in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or_73436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/rollo-may-1295_dissent_in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or_73436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/rollo-may-1295_dissent_in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or_73436.jpg) > “In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the insurgents.” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that true religious value lies in challenging established norms, not in blind loyalty to tradition. **In simple terms:** Celebrates dissent over conformity. Key Takeaway Insurgents drive authentic faith. Themes religion authority rebellion authenticity social change Mood defiant inspirational Type aphilosophical critical When to use this quote - theological debates - church reforms - social movements - personal spiritual crises Key Concepts institutional critique spiritual integrity Practical Applications - encouraging reformist leadership - guiding faith-based activism Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be an 'insurgent' in one's faith? - How can tradition and innovation coexist? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Status quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status-quo/) [Sycophants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sycophants/) ## Related quotes > [“When you favour a woman, she will want to return the favour in so many means, but its better to rupidiate such offerings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-you-favour-a-woman-she-will-want-to-return-the-favour-in-so-many/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Almighty Father! let thy lowly child, Strong in his love of truth, be wisely bold,-- A patriot bard, by sycophants reviled. Let him live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebenezer-elliott/almighty-father-let-thy-lowly-child-strong-in-his-love-of-truth-be/) [Ebenezer Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebenezer-elliott/) > [ How can he \[today's writer\] be honored, when he does not honor himself; when he loses himself in the crowd; when he is no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/how-can-he-today-s-writer-be-honored-when-he-does-not-honor-himself/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [SYCOPHANT- One who approaches Greatness on his belly so that he may not be commanded to turn and be kicked. He is sometimes an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/sycophant-one-who-approaches-greatness-on-his-belly-so-that-he-may/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“When things are like hunky dory, every enemy comes in the name of friend, but when things are twisted like turmoil, every friendly enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-things-are-like-hunky-dory-every-enemy-comes-in-the-name-of/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Thanks to pathetic reporting by The New York Times and other media sycophants more than 50 years ago, Fidel Castro, following the dictatorship of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/thanks-to-pathetic-reporting-by-the-new-york-times-and-other-media/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [Yoko had 10 years and I had 10 years and I would rather have had the 10 years I had than the ones she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-lennon/yoko-had-10-years-and-i-had-10-years-and-i-would-rather-have-had-the/) [Cynthia Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-lennon/) > [Whenever you commend, add your reasons for doing so; it is this which distinguishes the approbation of a man of sense from the flattery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/whenever-you-commend-add-your-reasons-for-doing-so-it-is-this-which/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [The AICC is full of sycophants, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/the-aicc-is-full-of-sycophants-nothing-else/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Journalists were never intended to be the cheerleaders of a society, the conductors of applause, the sycophants. Tragically, that is their assigned role in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-huntley/journalists-were-never-intended-to-be-the-cheerleaders-of-a-society/) [Chet Huntley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-huntley/) > [“I don't like sycophants. Unless you're a cat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primadonna-angela/i-don-t-like-sycophants-unless-you-re-a-cat/) [Primadonna Angela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primadonna-angela/) > [I would rather a thousand times be a free soul in jail than to be a sycophant and coward in the streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/i-would-rather-a-thousand-times-be-a-free-soul-in-jail-than-to-be-a/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [The journalists are so devoted to Obama. They are such sycophants that they're worried about access.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-journalists-are-so-devoted-to-obama-they-are-such-sycophants-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/all-the-parties-of-capitalist-society-all-its-moralists-and-all-its/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Sir, I am no sycophant or worshipper of power anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-f-wade/sir-i-am-no-sycophant-or-worshipper-of-power-anywhere/) [Benjamin F. Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-f-wade/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The personal freedom to think & feel & speak authentically & to be conscious of so doing is the quality that distinguishes us as human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-personal-freedom-to-think-feel-speak-authentically-to-be/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Dissent quotes > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want to live a meaningfully better life, you're going to have to make the dangerous choice to dissent. A life lived meaningfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/if-you-want-to-live-a-meaningfully-better-life-you-re-going-to-have/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I find myself frequently placed where I dare give neither assent nor dissent to propositions that are submitted to me; for there is danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/i-find-myself-frequently-placed-where-i-dare-give-neither-assent-nor/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [The original crime of niggers and lesbians is that they prefer themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-original-crime-of-niggers-and-lesbians-is-that-they-prefer/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [It is dissent from government policies which defines the true Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/it-is-dissent-from-government-policies-which-defines-the-true-patriot/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [In America, you can segregate the people, but the problems will travel. From slavery to equal rights, from state suppression of dissent to crime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/in-america-you-can-segregate-the-people-but-the-problems-will-travel/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [America was born of revolt, flourished in dissent, became great through experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/america-was-born-of-revolt-flourished-in-dissent-became-great-through/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [“Protection, therefore, against tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/protection-therefore-against-tyranny-of-the-magistrate-is-not-enough/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The intolerant man will not rely on persuasion, or on the worth of the idea. He would deny to others the very freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-intolerant-man-will-not-rely-on-persuasion-or-on-the-worth-of-the/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [“That there must be heresies is true, not onely in our Church, but also in any other; even in Doctrines hereticall there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/that-there-must-be-heresies-is-true-not-onely-in-our-church-but-also/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [In sum, the Court's conclusion that a constitutionally adequate recount is impractical is a prophecy the Court's own judgment will not allow to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/in-sum-the-court-s-conclusion-that-a-constitutionally-adequate/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [Lonely dissent doesn't feel like going to school dressed in black. 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