--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I myself am not comfortable with the…" description: "\"I myself am not comfortable with the notion of secularists congregating in groups, except perhaps for defensive purposes: the last thing a secularist s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg" --- # I myself am not comfortable with the notion of secularists… ![“I myself am not comfortable with the notion of secularists congregating in groups, except perhaps for defensive purposes: the last thing a secularist should wish to do is to act like a religion, with its rigid hierarchies, its suppression of divergent opinion, and, above all, its ruthless attempts…” quote by S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg) > “I myself am not comfortable with the notion of secularists congregating in groups, except perhaps for defensive purposes: the last thing a secularist should wish to do is to act like a religion, with its rigid hierarchies, its suppression of divergent opinion, and, above all, its ruthless attempts (now mercifully inhibited by laws) to outlaw "heresy" by brute force. Opinions must be changed, one at a time if necessary, but if there are those who wish to persist in religious belief, they should certainly be allowed to do so.” [S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Secular groups should avoid mimicking religious hierarchies and coercion, allowing individual belief changes gradually. **In simple terms:** Secular groups must stay flexible. Key Takeaway Promote open, non‑coercive dialogue. Themes secularism freedom authority Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type social political When to use this quote - political activism - community building - policy making Key Concepts pluralism individual rights social organization Questions to Reflect On - How can secular groups stay inclusive? - What safeguards prevent authoritarian drift? A Different Perspective Rigid structures can alienate supporters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Brute force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brute-force/) [Brutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutes/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Comfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfortable/) [Divergent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divergent/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Notion Secularists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-secularists-3733416/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Outlaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlaw/) [Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persist/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-belief/) [Ruthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthless/) [Secularist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularist-3441453/) [Secularist Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularist-wish-3733417/) [Secularists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularists/) [Secularists Congregating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secularists-congregating-3733415/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Suppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppression/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [Determined secularists view these as residual inconsistencies that they have not yet go around to extirpating and that may not be worth bothering about...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-john-neuhaus/determined-secularists-view-these-as-residual-inconsistencies-that/) [Richard John Neuhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-john-neuhaus/) > [“Better for them to deny the mind--and with it rationality, truth, and science itself--than to admit the soul. Once again, the secularist manifests the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-feser/better-for-them-to-deny-the-mind-and-with-it-rationality-truth-and/) [Edward Feser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-feser/) > [I am a secularist in the Gandhian sense of the word, not the Nehruvian one. Nehru thought religion was an antique superstition which stood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-am-a-secularist-in-the-gandhian-sense-of-the-word-not-the-nehruvian/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“The attempt made in recent decades by secularist thinkers to disengage the moral principles of western civilization from their scripturally based religious context, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-herberg/the-attempt-made-in-recent-decades-by-secularist-thinkers-to/) [Will Herberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-herberg/) > [The atheist, agnostic, or secularist ... should guard against the encroachment of religion in areas where it has no place, and in particular the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-atheist-agnostic-or-secularist-should-guard-against-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every brand of religion maintains, and is, a permanent mechanism for transmitting ideas and values - whether one regards those values as admirable or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/every-brand-of-religion-maintains-and-is-a-permanent-mechanism-for/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“No man is such a legalist as the good Secularist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/no-man-is-such-a-legalist-as-the-good-secularist/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [If terrorism is to be defeated, the world of Islam must take on board the secularist-humanist principles on which the modern is based, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-terrorism-is-to-be-defeated-the-world-of-islam-must-take-on-board-2/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“For Kuyper, both of these models embody a fundamental error. The medieval perspective rightly acknowledged God's rule over all cultural activity, but it mistakenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-mouw/for-kuyper-both-of-these-models-embody-a-fundamental-error-the/) [Richard J. Mouw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-mouw/) > [Secularist justices de-Christianized our country. They invented new rights for vicious criminals as though criminal justice were a game. They tore our country apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/secularist-justices-de-christianized-our-country-they-invented-new/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [“The atheist, agnostic, or secularist ... should not be cowed by exaggerated sensitivity to people's religious beliefs and fail to speak vigorously and pointedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/the-atheist-agnostic-or-secularist-should-not-be-cowed-by-exaggerated/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“It is quite clear, whether you read Christopher Hitchens or Friedrich Nietzsche, that the image of God running the world to which they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/it-is-quite-clear-whether-you-read-christopher-hitchens-or-friedrich/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [The most important advance that the West has yet made is to develop a secularist moral tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/the-most-important-advance-that-the-west-has-yet-made-is-to-develop-a/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [My father's from Pakistan and he has been a secularist all his life. In the Pakistani context, there's no messing with religion. There's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/my-father-s-from-pakistan-and-he-has-been-a-secularist-all-his-life/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by S. T. Joshi > [The decline of witch-belief was . . . entirely the product of religious skepticism. . . . The Catholic Church did not reform itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/the-decline-of-witch-belief-was-entirely-the-product-of-religious/) [S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) > [The prose of Joe Pulver can take its place with that of the masters of our genre – E.A. Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/the-prose-of-joe-pulver-can-take-its-place-with-that-of-the-masters/) [S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) > [When I read passages like this, I want to look for the nearest wall to bang my head against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/when-i-read-passages-like-this-i-want-to-look-for-the-nearest-wall-to/) [S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) > [Richard Gavin is one of the bright new stars in contemporary weird fiction. His richly textured style, deft character portrayal, and powerful horrific conceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/richard-gavin-is-one-of-the-bright-new-stars-in-contemporary-weird/) [S. T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) [Explore all 5 S. T. Joshi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [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/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I myself am not comfortable with the notion of secularists congregating in groups, except perhaps for defensive purposes: the last thing a secularist should wish to do is to act like a religion, with its rigid hierarchies, its suppression of divergent opinion, and, above all, its ruthless attempts (now mercifully inhibited by laws) to outlaw \"heresy\" by brute force. Opinions must be changed, one at a time if necessary, but if there are those who wish to persist in religious belief, they should certainly be allowed to do so.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "S. T. Joshi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-notion-of-secularists/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-notion-of-secularists/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/s-t-joshi-2-59153_atheism_i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-not_2842451.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I myself am not comfortable with the notion of secularists congregating in groups, except perhaps for…” — S. T. Joshi", "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": "S. T. Joshi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I myself am not comfortable with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-notion-of-secularists/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi-2/i-myself-am-not-comfortable-with-the-notion-of-secularists/#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 } } ] } ```