--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is, I think, an error to believe that…" description: "\"It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.\" — Sinclair Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png" --- # It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need… ![“It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.” quote by Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png) > “It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.” [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is not required for a meaningful life; meaning can be found elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Life can be meaningful without religion. Key Takeaway Find purpose beyond faith. Themes existentialism secularism meaning Mood thoughtful serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career fulfillment - artistic pursuits - philosophical reflection Key Concepts humanism personal values Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life purpose? - How do you cope without spiritual belief? A Different Perspective Some may find comfort in religious frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-need/) [Error Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/error-believe-947902/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Need Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-religion/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-make-528549/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-living/) ## Related quotes > [I love religion. I could make up religions all day. I sort of think that in an ideal world I'd like to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-love-religion-i-could-make-up-religions-all-day-i-sort-of-think/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What we firmly believe, if it is true, is called knowledge, provided it is either intuitive or inferred (logically or psychologically) from intuitive knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/what-we-firmly-believe-if-it-is-true-is-called-knowledge-provided-it/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It is error to believe that Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-ix/it-is-error-to-believe-that-every-man-is-free-to-embrace-and-profess/) [Pope Pius IX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-ix/) > [“And who talks of error now? I scarcely think the notion that flittered across my brain was an error. I believe it was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/and-who-talks-of-error-now-i-scarcely-think-the-notion-that-flittered/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Observe that it is a great error to believe that all mediums of art are not closely tied to their time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-pissarro/observe-that-it-is-a-great-error-to-believe-that-all-mediums-of-art/) [Camille Pissarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-pissarro/) > [It is, all in all, a historic error to believe that the master makes the school; the students make it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/it-is-all-in-all-a-historic-error-to-believe-that-the-master-makes/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [We're always going to be cherry-picking to make religion make sense. Especially in the modern context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/negin-farsad/we-re-always-going-to-be-cherry-picking-to-make-religion-make-sense/) [Negin Farsad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/negin-farsad/) > [I heard somewhere that love has no religion, but I believes that who ever said this wasn't loved enough, otherwise he has said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-d-trivedi/i-heard-somewhere-that-love-has-no-religion-but-i-believes-that-who/) [B D Trivedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-d-trivedi/) > [“Whatever your religion be, make from your human brotherhood ,the foundation on which to adopt a life with each other. Abeer AlMadawy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abeer-almadawy/whatever-your-religion-be-make-from-your-human-brotherhood-the/) [Abeer Almadawy عبير المعداوي](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abeer-almadawy/) > [“But even if religion makes no sense to you, you need to make sense of religion to to make sense of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-prothero/but-even-if-religion-makes-no-sense-to-you-you-need-to-make-sense-of/) [Stephen R. Prothero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-prothero/) > [The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-sunday/the-trouble-with-many-men-is-that-they-have-got-just-enough-religion/) [Billy Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-sunday/) > [No religion will ever make me forget the condition of our people in this country...No God, no religion, no nothing will make me forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/no-religion-will-ever-make-me-forget-the-condition-of-our-people-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“We do not need to eliminate religion, or let me be a bit articulate and say – we cannot eliminate religion from the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/we-do-not-need-to-eliminate-religion-or-let-me-be-a-bit-articulate/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Many people have just enough natural religion to make them immune to the real thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/many-people-have-just-enough-natural-religion-to-make-them-immune-to/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/we-have-enough-religion-to-make-us-hate-but-not-enough-to-make-us/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More by Sinclair Lewis > [“She found beauty in the children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-found-beauty-in-the-children/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [What is Love? Listen! It is the rainbow that stands out, in all its glorious many-colored hues, illuminating and making glad again the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/what-is-love-listen-it-is-the-rainbow-that-stands-out-in-all-its/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [He loved the people just as much as he feared and detested persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-loved-the-people-just-as-much-as-he-feared-and-detested-persons/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“He had expected that traditionally Republican Vermont would give him too drearily easy a task in preaching Trowbridge. What he found was a dismaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-had-expected-that-traditionally-republican-vermont-would-give-him/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Day on day he waited. So much of a revolution for so many people is nothing but waiting. That is one reason why tourists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/day-on-day-he-waited-so-much-of-a-revolution-for-so-many-people-is/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“She continued it to Hugh, 'Darling, do you know what mother and you are going to find beyond the blue horizon rim?' 'What?' flatly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-continued-it-to-hugh-darling-do-you-know-what-mother-and-you-are/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Is it possible that nobody has ever known that there never has been a completely civilized man, and won't be for another thousand years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/is-it-possible-that-nobody-has-ever-known-that-there-never-has-been-a/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“I think perhaps we want a more conscientious life. We're tired of drudging and sleeping and dying. We're tired of always deferring hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/i-think-perhaps-we-want-a-more-conscientious-life-we-re-tired-of/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [It might be the doing of Satan, in whom Aaron anxiously believed with all of his being except, perhaps, his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-might-be-the-doing-of-satan-in-whom-aaron-anxiously-believed-with/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The author says one character's definition of a classic is any book he'd heard of before he was thirty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-author-says-one-character-s-definition-of-a-classic-is-any-book/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Like all males, he hated to confess ignorance by asking directions,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/like-all-males-he-hated-to-confess-ignorance-by-asking-directions/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/winter-is-not-a-season-it-s-an-occupation/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Author sees the "congested idealism" of the generally discontent as reservoir that will support centralized power even while disagreeing with many specific provisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/author-sees-the-congested-idealism-of-the-generally-discontent-as/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The poor we have always with us, and the purpose of the Lord in providing the poor is to enable us of the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-poor-we-have-always-with-us-and-the-purpose-of-the-lord-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) [Explore all 196 Sinclair Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## More Atheist 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/) > [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/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sinclair Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-there-is-any-need-of-religion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-there-is-any-need-of-religion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/sinclair-lewis-1945_atheist_it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-t_870507.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.” — Sinclair Lewis", "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": "Sinclair Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is, I think, an error...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-there-is-any-need-of-religion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-is-i-think-an-error-to-believe-that-there-is-any-need-of-religion/#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 } } ] } ```