--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you believe in what I do, which is…" description: "\"If you believe in what I do, which is secular humanism, I would find it extremely difficult to live with someone - not to love someone - but to live wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg" --- # If you believe in what I do, which is secular humanism, I… ![“If you believe in what I do, which is secular humanism, I would find it extremely difficult to live with someone - not to love someone - but to live with somebody and build a life of someone who disagreed with me on something so fundamental.” quote by Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg) > “If you believe in what I do, which is secular humanism, I would find it extremely difficult to live with someone - not to love someone - but to live with somebody and build a life of someone who disagreed with me on something so fundamental.” [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. Living with someone whose core beliefs clash creates deep relational tension and emotional strain. **In simple terms:** Fundamental disagreements strain relationships. Key Takeaway Seek common values, respect differences. Themes relationships beliefs conflict Mood reflective serious Type philosophical relationship When to use this quote - cohabitation - marriage - friendship - family dynamics Key Concepts secular humanism ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - Can love bridge core belief gaps? - What boundaries help maintain harmony? A Different Perspective Fundamental differences may be irreconcilable despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-someone/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [Secular humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular-humanism/) ## Related quotes > [Have you not learned the most in your life from those with whom you disagreed - those who saw it differently from you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/have-you-not-learned-the-most-in-your-life-from-those-with-whom-you/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“They believe in a universe of divine justice where the human race is guilty of sin, but they also believe in a secular justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/they-believe-in-a-universe-of-divine-justice-where-the-human-race-is/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [I believe in secular politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-believe-in-secular-politics/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [I believe in all the secular values that Indian democracy is famous for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/i-believe-in-all-the-secular-values-that-indian-democracy-is-famous/) [Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/) > [Christian songs are more my personal testimony. I don't say things I don't believe in on secular records, but I am going for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-bailey/christian-songs-are-more-my-personal-testimony-i-don-t-say-things-i/) [Philip Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-bailey/) > [I have been with the Congress because I believe in a secular ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagma/i-have-been-with-the-congress-because-i-believe-in-a-secular-ideology/) [Nagma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagma/) > [I completely can't understand people of different faiths who say that their children will choose when they grow up. I think that if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-completely-can-t-understand-people-of-different-faiths-who-say-that/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“As for the belief that humanity is mostly good, Secular humanism, when in that alignment, always presumes the existence of a higher power, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/as-for-the-belief-that-humanity-is-mostly-good-secular-humanism-when/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/in-the-name-of-christ-i-quit-christianity/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Returning to the Moral Majority, we must realize that regardless of whether we think the Moral Majority has always said the right things or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/returning-to-the-moral-majority-we-must-realize-that-regardless-of/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [“Science Class Would you invent some irrational explanation for we lost souls that the glaciers aren’t really melting at all, that they are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-of-mayberry/science-class-would-you-invent-some-irrational-explanation-for-we/) Diogenes of Mayberry > [Only a loving and covenant-making personal God can provide humans with unique dignity, worth, and rights. Blind nature cannot do that. So, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-e-olson/only-a-loving-and-covenant-making-personal-god-can-provide-humans/) [Roger E. Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-e-olson/) > [“We've already had Malthus , the friend of humanity. But the friend of humanity with shaky moral principles is the devourer of humanity, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/we-ve-already-had-malthus-the-friend-of-humanity-but-the-friend-of/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I noticed that religion gave some people a way to escape dealing with the world: “Things will be better when you die,” the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-noticed-that-religion-gave-some-people-a-way-to-escape-dealing-with/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [“But the most insidious and dangerous of false religions is secular humanism. It’s so crafty, so sneaky, with its kindness and its decency, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/but-the-most-insidious-and-dangerous-of-false-religions-is-secular/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## 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 Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“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/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you believe in what I do, which is secular humanism, I would find it extremely difficult to live with someone - not to love someone - but to live with somebody and build a life of someone who disagreed with me on something so fundamental.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Jacoby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-secular-humanism-i-would-find-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-secular-humanism-i-would-find-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/susan-jacoby-10682_believe_if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-sec_1932292.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you believe in what I do, which is secular humanism, I would find it extremely difficult to live with…” — 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": "If you believe in what I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-secular-humanism-i-would-find-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-you-believe-in-what-i-do-which-is-secular-humanism-i-would-find-it/#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 } } ] } ```