--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A lifelong Methodist, he had always…" description: "\"“A lifelong Methodist, he had always viewed religious excess with a certain irony, having once told a clutch of ministers that America boasted three pa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png" --- # A lifelong Methodist, he had always viewed religious… ![“A lifelong Methodist, he had always viewed religious excess with a certain irony, having once told a clutch of ministers that America boasted three parties: Democrats, Republicans, and Methodists.” quote by Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png) > ““A lifelong Methodist, he had always viewed religious excess with a certain irony, having once told a clutch of ministers that America boasted three parties: Democrats, Republicans, and Methodists.”” [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America’s political landscape humorically includes Methodists as a third party. **In simple terms:** Methodists are jokingly called a political party. Key Takeaway Recognize humor in political commentary. Themes politics religion humor culture Mood witty analytical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - political debates - media analysis - public discourse Key Concepts political satire American politics religious identity Questions to Reflect On - How does humor shape political perception? - What are the real impacts of religious groups on politics? A Different Perspective The joke may oversimplify complex religious influences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Methodists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methodists/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [In my family, we were Americans, we were Republicans and we were Methodists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/in-my-family-we-were-americans-we-were-republicans-and-we-were/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Do all the good you can, by all the means you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [As a Christian, part of my obligation is to alleviate suffering. Explicit recognition of that in the Methodist tradition is one reason I'm comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/as-a-christian-part-of-my-obligation-is-to-alleviate-suffering/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I was raised Catholic, but my father's people were Methodist, so we went to both churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-neville/i-was-raised-catholic-but-my-father-s-people-were-methodist-so-we/) [Aaron Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-neville/) > [I always thought of myself as a good old South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie. My dad was a Methodist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-good-old-south-dakota-boy-who-grew-up-2/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [In my mother's church, everybody read the Bible and it was mostly about music. My mother had the most beautiful voice I have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-my-mother-s-church-everybody-read-the-bible-and-it-was-mostly/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/john-wesley-tells-of-a-dream-he-had-in-the-dream-he-was-ushered-to/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [My father was a preacher in Maryland and we had crab feasts - with corn on the cob, but no beer, being Methodist -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-father-was-a-preacher-in-maryland-and-we-had-crab-feasts-with-corn/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [In Bolivia there are Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, Baptist churches, and so on. In Bolivia there are indigenous religious beliefs like the rite of Pachamama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/in-bolivia-there-are-catholic-evangelical-methodist-baptist-churches/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > ['Christian' used to be a throwaway word. People didn't used to use it much. People didn't start self-labeling or getting labeled Christian until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/christian-used-to-be-a-throwaway-word-people-didn-t-used-to-use-it/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [I never thought it was right to call up a man and try him because he erred in doctrine, it looks too much like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/i-never-thought-it-was-right-to-call-up-a-man-and-try-him-because-he/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [We will keep a commitment to pluralism and not discriminate for or against Methodist or Mormons or Muslims or good people with no faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-keep-a-commitment-to-pluralism-and-not-discriminate-for-or/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I am surrounded here by parsons and methodists, but as you will see, not infested with the mania.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-am-surrounded-here-by-parsons-and-methodists-but-as-you-will-see/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Both my parents are Methodist preachers, I grew up in a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-bentley/both-my-parents-are-methodist-preachers-i-grew-up-in-a-church/) [Wes Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-bentley/) > [Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/having-first-gained-all-you-can-and-secondly-saved-all-you-can-then/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) ## More by Ron Chernow > [“In other words, Julia still believed in the beneficial effects of tobacco long after her husband had likely died from it. Even grimacing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/in-other-words-julia-still-believed-in-the-beneficial-effects-of/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“Right before his inauguration, he received a Quaker delegation and asked them to nominate Indian agents from their members. “If you can make Quakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/right-before-his-inauguration-he-received-a-quaker-delegation-and/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“Grant roomed with Fred Dent, who also singled out Grant as “the clearest headed young man I ever saw . . . He always wanted to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/grant-roomed-with-fred-dent-who-also-singled-out-grant-as-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“Hamilton has often been extolled as the exponent of a rational foreign policy based on cool calculations of national self-interest. But his April 14…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/hamilton-has-often-been-extolled-as-the-exponent-of-a-rational/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“While the folks at home embraced him as an improbable hero, Washington was denigrated in England as a reckless young warrior and in France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/while-the-folks-at-home-embraced-him-as-an-improbable-hero-washington/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“the immorality of slavery became patently clear that spring. He had acquired from Colonel Dent the mulatto slave named William Jones who had worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-immorality-of-slavery-became-patently-clear-that-spring-he-had/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“As his life steadily unraveled, he pawned his gold watch and chain for $20 on December 23, 1857, to purchase Christmas presents for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/as-his-life-steadily-unraveled-he-pawned-his-gold-watch-and-chain-for/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“Grant had overwhelmingly won the electoral vote, and had garnered the largest popular majority of the century, nearly 56 percent of the vote, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/grant-had-overwhelmingly-won-the-electoral-vote-and-had-garnered-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“The chief quartermaster on the West Coast, Robert Allen, an old friend of Grant’s, learned he was holed up in a cheap miner’s hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-chief-quartermaster-on-the-west-coast-robert-allen-an-old-friend/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“Returning to his Manhattan town house on Christmas Eve, Grant, sixty-one, pivoted to hand the driver a holiday tip when he slipped on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/returning-to-his-manhattan-town-house-on-christmas-eve-grant-sixty/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“When he bet Julia that she wouldn’t dare to descend into the mine, located seventeen hundred feet below, it roused her fighting spirit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/when-he-bet-julia-that-she-wouldn-t-dare-to-descend-into-the-mine/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“Consequential to the election outcome were the many private contacts in the capital between southern Democrats and Hayes’s northern Republican supporters. At Wormley’s Hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/consequential-to-the-election-outcome-were-the-many-private-contacts/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“The trial wasn’t the finest hour of American justice as the treatment of the prisoners seemed medieval in its barbarism. Almost all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-trial-wasn-t-the-finest-hour-of-american-justice-as-the-treatment/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“he warned that progressive accumulation of debt “is perhaps the NATURAL DISEASE of all Governments. And it is not easy to conceive anything more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/he-warned-that-progressive-accumulation-of-debt-is-perhaps-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) [Explore all 276 Ron Chernow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) ## More Methodists quotes > [Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/having-first-gained-all-you-can-and-secondly-saved-all-you-can-then/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [Both my parents are Methodist preachers, I grew up in a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-bentley/both-my-parents-are-methodist-preachers-i-grew-up-in-a-church/) [Wes Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-bentley/) > [I am surrounded here by parsons and methodists, but as you will see, not infested with the mania.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-am-surrounded-here-by-parsons-and-methodists-but-as-you-will-see/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [We will keep a commitment to pluralism and not discriminate for or against Methodist or Mormons or Muslims or good people with no faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-keep-a-commitment-to-pluralism-and-not-discriminate-for-or/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I never thought it was right to call up a man and try him because he erred in doctrine, it looks too much like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/i-never-thought-it-was-right-to-call-up-a-man-and-try-him-because-he/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > ['Christian' used to be a throwaway word. People didn't used to use it much. People didn't start self-labeling or getting labeled Christian until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/christian-used-to-be-a-throwaway-word-people-didn-t-used-to-use-it/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [In Bolivia there are Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, Baptist churches, and so on. In Bolivia there are indigenous religious beliefs like the rite of Pachamama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/in-bolivia-there-are-catholic-evangelical-methodist-baptist-churches/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [My father was a preacher in Maryland and we had crab feasts - with corn on the cob, but no beer, being Methodist -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-father-was-a-preacher-in-maryland-and-we-had-crab-feasts-with-corn/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/john-wesley-tells-of-a-dream-he-had-in-the-dream-he-was-ushered-to/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [In my mother's church, everybody read the Bible and it was mostly about music. My mother had the most beautiful voice I have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-my-mother-s-church-everybody-read-the-bible-and-it-was-mostly/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I always thought of myself as a good old South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie. My dad was a Methodist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-good-old-south-dakota-boy-who-grew-up-2/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I was raised Catholic, but my father's people were Methodist, so we went to both churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-neville/i-was-raised-catholic-but-my-father-s-people-were-methodist-so-we/) [Aaron Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-neville/) > [As a Christian, part of my obligation is to alleviate suffering. Explicit recognition of that in the Methodist tradition is one reason I'm comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/as-a-christian-part-of-my-obligation-is-to-alleviate-suffering/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Do all the good you can, by all the means you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [A dull, dark, depressing day in Winter: the whole world looks like a Methodist church at Wednesday night prayer meeting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-dull-dark-depressing-day-in-winter-the-whole-world-looks-like-a/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) [Browse all 90 Methodists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methodists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A lifelong Methodist, he had always viewed religious excess with a certain irony, having once told a clutch of ministers that America boasted three parties: Democrats, Republicans, and Methodists.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ron Chernow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewed-religious-excess-with-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Methodists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewed-religious-excess-with-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/ron-chernow-1189_methodists_a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewe_569117.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A lifelong Methodist, he had always viewed religious excess with a certain irony, having once told a clutch…” — Ron Chernow", "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": "Ron Chernow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A lifelong Methodist, he had always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewed-religious-excess-with-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/a-lifelong-methodist-he-had-always-viewed-religious-excess-with-a/#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 } } ] } ```