--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not saying that I think atheists are…" description: "\"I'm not saying that I think atheists are better than other people. God, no. What I am saying is I do feel that this an integral part of who I am. And i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg" --- # I'm not saying that I think atheists are better than other… ![“I'm not saying that I think atheists are better than other people. God, no. What I am saying is I do feel that this an integral part of who I am. And it's not something that I could comfortably think of not sharing with the person I loved most in the world.” quote by Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg) > “I'm not saying that I think atheists are better than other people. God, no. What I am saying is I do feel that this an integral part of who I am. And it's not something that I could comfortably think of not sharing with the person I loved most in the world.” [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal belief systems are integral to self‑identity and sharing them with loved ones is essential. **In simple terms:** Faith shapes identity and relationships. Key Takeaway Respect and discuss core beliefs with partners. Themes identity faith relationships Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - marriage counseling - family gatherings - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts philosophy psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal belief with inclusive dialogue? - What boundaries protect both partners? A Different Perspective May conflict with secular perspectives in diverse societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Atheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Who i am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-i-am/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“it may sound strange, but I think atheists are the most religious people in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dodds/it-may-sound-strange-but-i-think-atheists-are-the-most-religious/) Colin Dodds > [“I’ll admit that both atheists and Christians are guilty of cherry-picking the Bible.  In a book so long and rambling, I suppose that there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-lugeons/i-ll-admit-that-both-atheists-and-christians-are-guilty-of-cherry/) [Noah Lugeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-lugeons/) > [I think religion is a mistake - I'm exhausted by its self-righteousness. I think atheists should start screaming for attention like religious folks do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjork/i-think-religion-is-a-mistake-i-m-exhausted-by-its-self-righteousness/) [Bjork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjork/) > [Nobody really knows if there's a God - not Oprah, not Joel Osteen, not the Pope. Nobody has touched or felt or conversed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jordan/nobody-really-knows-if-there-s-a-god-not-oprah-not-joel-osteen-not/) [Leslie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jordan/) > [I think we atheists should tolerate the religious not because their views are just as valid as ours, but because experience has shown that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crane/i-think-we-atheists-should-tolerate-the-religious-not-because-their/) [Tim Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crane/) > [People think that atheists have nothing to live for, but that's not true - it's that we have nothing to die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/people-think-that-atheists-have-nothing-to-live-for-but-that-s-not/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [If you give people an idea these days, they just think you are sharing it with them so they can critique it, play devil's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esm-raji-codell/if-you-give-people-an-idea-these-days-they-just-think-you-are-sharing/) [Esme Raji Codell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esm-raji-codell/) > [Most Christians are afraid that people will think for themselves; most atheists are afraid that they won’t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/most-christians-are-afraid-that-people-will-think-for-themselves-most/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [I think that sharing experiences with a person is very valuable, because it allows you to have a bond to become closer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/i-think-that-sharing-experiences-with-a-person-is-very-valuable/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [Be careful who you share your secrets to. Now a days people tend to think that Sharing is Loving...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-caram/be-careful-who-you-share-your-secrets-to-now-a-days-people-tend-to/) Mia Caram > [If you get to think of sharing wealth with people who need it and the purposes that need it, it gives a very different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-nadar/if-you-get-to-think-of-sharing-wealth-with-people-who-need-it-and-the/) [Shiv Nadar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-nadar/) > [I think sharing experience makes everything better. When people get talking about how they've overcome something or how they haven't, it's nourishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-think-sharing-experience-makes-everything-better-when-people-get/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I think if there was a sharing in the ups, a sharing in the downs, the country would not be as divided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-schnatter/i-think-if-there-was-a-sharing-in-the-ups-a-sharing-in-the-downs-the/) [John Schnatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-schnatter/) > [I think sharing experiences is a great thing in order to change things in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanna-lenken/i-think-sharing-experiences-is-a-great-thing-in-order-to-change/) Sanna Lenken ## More by Susan Jacoby > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [If you chose a particular religion, you were siding with the government religion of whatever region you were in. That's never been true in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-you-chose-a-particular-religion-you-were-siding-with-the/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“The specific use of folks as an exclusionary and inclusionary signal, designed to make the speaker sound like one of the boys or girls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/the-specific-use-of-folks-as-an-exclusionary-and-inclusionary-signal/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [People think that, that conversion to Judaism is just a modern phenomenon. But there was an era in the late Roman Empire Judaism was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/people-think-that-that-conversion-to-judaism-is-just-a-modern/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Atheism is not a religion. One of the things, in fact, that atheism lacks are the kinds of rituals that religion does provide and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/atheism-is-not-a-religion-one-of-the-things-in-fact-that-atheism/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Once the Roman Catholic Church in the West became the church most closely connected with the state, the Roman Catholic Church did not recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/once-the-roman-catholic-church-in-the-west-became-the-church-most/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [I no more believe in the God of the Jews than I believe in any God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-no-more-believe-in-the-god-of-the-jews-than-i-believe-in-any-god/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [The more intelligent and competent a woman is in her adult life, the less likely she is to have received an adequate amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/the-more-intelligent-and-competent-a-woman-is-in-her-adult-life-the/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“For if freethinkers did not have a political platform, they nevertheless agreed on a wide range of social, cultural, and artistic concerns, which generated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/for-if-freethinkers-did-not-have-a-political-platform-they/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [We do want our fellow citizens to respect our deeply held conviction that the absence of an afterlife lends a greater, not a lesser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/we-do-want-our-fellow-citizens-to-respect-our-deeply-held-conviction/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [For one thing, the Catholic Church in particular has this one thing - confession - in which you could go, confess to a priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/for-one-thing-the-catholic-church-in-particular-has-this-one-thing/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [I think people who love each other and live together and have children together need to agree on the things that are most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-think-people-who-love-each-other-and-live-together-and-have/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [I have always regarded the development of the individual as the only legitimate goal of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-have-always-regarded-the-development-of-the-individual-as-the-only/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [A person can be religious and still respect secular values and not talk about Jesus all the time as though every American believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/a-person-can-be-religious-and-still-respect-secular-values-and-not/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) [Explore all 64 Susan Jacoby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) ## 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": "I'm not saying that I think atheists are better than other people. God, no. What I am saying is I do feel that this an integral part of who I am. And it's not something that I could comfortably think of not sharing with the person I loved most in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Jacoby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are-better-than-other-people-god/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are-better-than-other-people-god/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/susan-jacoby-10682_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are_3146551.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not saying that I think atheists are better than other people. God, no. What I am saying is I do feel…” — Susan Jacoby", "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": "Susan Jacoby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not saying that I think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are-better-than-other-people-god/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-atheists-are-better-than-other-people-god/#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 } } ] } ```