--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion has always been a matter of…" description: "\"Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare to u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg" --- # Religion has always been a matter of community building; a… ![“Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare to use the word - inclusion, which would otherwise be absent from our societies.” quote by Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg) > “Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare to use the word - inclusion, which would otherwise be absent from our societies.” [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion functions as a social glue, fostering compassion, shared feeling, and inclusion that might otherwise be missing. **In simple terms:** Religion builds inclusive community. Key Takeaway Community thrives on shared compassion. Themes religion community compassion inclusion Mood reflective inspirational Type theory commentary When to use this quote - interfaith dialogues - community building workshops - policy discussions Key Concepts social cohesion spirituality Practical Applications - social research - faith‑based outreach Questions to Reflect On - Can secular structures replicate these bonds? - What limits does religion face in promoting inclusion? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-building/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Fellow feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-feeling/) [Inclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inclusion/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Compassion is the fellow-feeling of the unsound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/compassion-is-the-fellow-feeling-of-the-unsound/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [If once we admit, be it for a single hour or in a single instance, that there can be anything more important than compassion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-once-we-admit-be-it-for-a-single-hour-or-in-a-single-instance-that/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Technology is unlocking the innate compassion we have for our fellow human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/technology-is-unlocking-the-innate-compassion-we-have-for-our-fellow/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Kindness is not a bad religion, no matter what name you use for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/kindness-is-not-a-bad-religion-no-matter-what-name-you-use-for-god/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [Do tribe, culture and religion have to matter in any love relationship. To me reason not good enough cos love conquer all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-uolt/do-tribe-culture-and-religion-have-to-matter-in-any-love-relationship/) [Hussein Uolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-uolt/) > [In all modern history, interference with science in the supposed interest of religion, no matter how conscientious such interference may have been, has resulted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/in-all-modern-history-interference-with-science-in-the-supposed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Religion becomes a matter of belief, and belief acts as a limitation on the mind; and the mind then is never free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/religion-becomes-a-matter-of-belief-and-belief-acts-as-a-limitation/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Does not a great number a feelings determine a common feeling formed by the parts that compose it? Once Truth can no longer be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/does-not-a-great-number-a-feelings-determine-a-common-feeling-formed/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Religion is a matter of the heart. No physical inconvenience can warrant abandonment of one's own religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religion-is-a-matter-of-the-heart-no-physical-inconvenience-can/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ Liberalism is \[ CNN infobabes\] religion; it's all a matter of faith. Nobody attacking it is gonna be listened to. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/liberalism-is-cnn-infobabes-religion-it-s-all-a-matter-of-faith/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in the self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/religion-is-not-a-matter-of-god-church-holy-cause-etc-these-are-but/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [If it's bad art, it's bad religion, no matter how pious the subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-it-s-bad-art-it-s-bad-religion-no-matter-how-pious-the-subject/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [The question of religion was a matter for each individual's conscience, and in a great many cases was the outcome of birth or residence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-larkin/the-question-of-religion-was-a-matter-for-each-individual-s/) [James Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-larkin/) > [One's own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one's Maker and no one else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-s-own-religion-is-after-all-a-matter-between-oneself-and-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Rowan Williams > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [“By affirming that all 'meaning,' every assertion about the significance of life and reality, must be judged by reference to a brief succession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/by-affirming-that-all-meaning-every-assertion-about-the-significance/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [I have, by God’s grace, learned as a member of the Christian community what is the nature of God’s mercy, which does not leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/i-have-by-god-s-grace-learned-as-a-member-of-the-christian-community/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We can at least see that the question is asked, and asked on the basis of a clear recognition that there is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/we-can-at-least-see-that-the-question-is-asked-and-asked-on-the-basis/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [In sharp contrast to the idea that this stage of life is enviable, we hear high levels of anxiety about getting old, anxieties about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/in-sharp-contrast-to-the-idea-that-this-stage-of-life-is-enviable-we/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Loneliness has little to do with what we do or where we do it, whether we're married or unmarried, optimists or pessimists, heterosexual or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/loneliness-has-little-to-do-with-what-we-do-or-where-we-do-it-whether/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [At the end of the Middle Ages, nobody would ever have expected the monasteries to vanish from the scene within a generation - yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/at-the-end-of-the-middle-ages-nobody-would-ever-have-expected-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We discover too late that we have turned a blind eye to the extinction of a species that is essential to the balance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/we-discover-too-late-that-we-have-turned-a-blind-eye-to-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Serving democracy and nourishing the common good is, for the media, something that requires not only attacking corrupt secrecies in a society, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/serving-democracy-and-nourishing-the-common-good-is-for-the-media/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [I do feel that federation, loose parallel processes, are less than we've got, less than we could have and, in the very long run,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/i-do-feel-that-federation-loose-parallel-processes-are-less-than-we/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Quite a lot of our contemporary culture is actually shot through with a resentment of limits and the passage of time, anger at what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/quite-a-lot-of-our-contemporary-culture-is-actually-shot-through-with/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Whether something is old-fashioned or not doesn't resolve the question of whether it's true or not. I can see the temptation of simply thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/whether-something-is-old-fashioned-or-not-doesn-t-resolve-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [“Two hermits lived together for many years without a quarrel. One said to the other, “Let’s have a quarrel with each other, as other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/two-hermits-lived-together-for-many-years-without-a-quarrel-one-said/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [“Christians will be found in the neighbourhood of Jesus – but Jesus is found in the neighbourhood of human confusion and suffering, defencelessly alongside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/christians-will-be-found-in-the-neighbourhood-of-jesus-but-jesus-is/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We must support government coercion over enforcing international protocols and speed limits on motorways if we want the global economy not to collapse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/we-must-support-government-coercion-over-enforcing-international/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) [Explore all 79 Rowan Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) ## More Absent 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/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The interesting thing about an absent father is, for a child, you don't know he's absent. You just think he's... tardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-majors/the-interesting-thing-about-an-absent-father-is-for-a-child-you-don-t/) [Jonathan Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-majors/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord's sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/symeon-the-new-theologian/if-we-are-ashamed-to-imitate-our-lord-s-sufferings-which-he-endured/) [Symeon the New Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/symeon-the-new-theologian/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [A FRIEND IS A PERSON . . . With whom you can be sincere. . . . To whom you never need to defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-armand-montapert/a-friend-is-a-person-with-whom-you-can-be-sincere-to-whom-you-never/) [Alfred Armand Montapert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-armand-montapert/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Operas elucidate, in a way sometimes absent in other theatrical productions, the very human fact that in every hero, there is a thread of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/operas-elucidate-in-a-way-sometimes-absent-in-other-theatrical/) [Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/) Browse all 490 Absent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare to use the word - inclusion, which would otherwise be absent from our societies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rowan Williams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/rowan-williams-8580_absent_religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-com_91261.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of…” — Rowan Williams", "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": "Rowan Williams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Religion has always been a matter...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/#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 } } ] } ```