--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That so many manage to accommodate belief…" description: "\"That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a testament not to the compatibility of science..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg" --- # That so many manage to accommodate belief systems… ![“That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a testament not to the compatibility of science and religion but to the flexibility, in both the physical and metaphysical senses, of the human brain.” quote by Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg) > “That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a testament not to the compatibility of science and religion but to the flexibility, in both the physical and metaphysical senses, of the human brain.” [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. Human brains can hold both scientific and religious ideas, showing mental flexibility rather than proving science and religion are compatible. **In simple terms:** The mind can juggle science and faith. Key Takeaway Recognize mental flexibility. Themes cognition science religion flexibility Mood curious reflective Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - personal belief formation - interfaith dialogue - education - public policy - mental health Key Concepts Neuroscience philosophy of mind cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How does your brain reconcile conflicting ideas? - What limits does this flexibility have? A Different Perspective It may overlook conflicts that arise when scientific evidence contradicts religious claims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accommodate Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accommodate-belief-3212011/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-systems/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Flexibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flexibility/) [Human brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-brain/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Manage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) [Metaphysical Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical-senses-3212012/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural Supernatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-supernatural-666914/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Flexibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-flexibility-3212010/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-religion/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/) ## Related quotes > [The problem of the novelist who wishes to write about a man's encounter with God is how he shall make the experience--which is both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-problem-of-the-novelist-who-wishes-to-write-about-a-man-s/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Mysticism occurs whenever a human being sees the separation between the natural and the supernatural, between the temporal and the eternal, as overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/mysticism-occurs-whenever-a-human-being-sees-the-separation-between/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [The natural/supernatural distinction itself, and the near-equation of 'supernatural' with 'superstition', are scarecrows that Enlightenment thought has erected in its fields to frighten away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/the-natural-supernatural-distinction-itself-and-the-near-equation-of/) [N. 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That is my world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-am-writing-i-do-not-distinguish-between-the-natural-and/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“As to my intense wish never to come into contact with the eldila myself, I am not sure whether I can make you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/as-to-my-intense-wish-never-to-come-into-contact-with-the-eldila/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“I am not sure whether I can make you understand it. It was something more than a prudent desire to avoid creatures alien in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-am-not-sure-whether-i-can-make-you-understand-it-it-was-something/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [The border between the natural and the supernatural, religion and philosophy, may not always be clear. But there are lines, and we should know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/the-border-between-the-natural-and-the-supernatural-religion-and/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“The world of magic is double, natural, and supernatural. Magic is impossible in a purely materialist world, a purely sceptical world, a world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt/the-world-of-magic-is-double-natural-and-supernatural-magic-is/) [A.S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt/) > [I think that things like curses or whatever - those labels - come from belief systems, universal belief systems. So when you get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/i-think-that-things-like-curses-or-whatever-those-labels-come-from/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [I'm very, very suspicious of anybody that finds a belief system that they feel can explain it all, for themselves or for anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/i-m-very-very-suspicious-of-anybody-that-finds-a-belief-system-that/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. Everyone thinks they more or less have a handle on things, that they, as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/everyone-thinks-they-ve-won-the-magical-belief-lottery-everyone/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) ## 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. 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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 Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [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/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. 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Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a testament not to the compatibility of science and religion but to the flexibility, in both the physical and metaphysical senses, of the human brain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Jacoby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belief-systems-encompassing-both/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belief-systems-encompassing-both/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/susan-jacoby-10682_belief_that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belie_2766663.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a…” — 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": "That so many manage to accommodate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belief-systems-encompassing-both/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/that-so-many-manage-to-accommodate-belief-systems-encompassing-both/#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 } } ] } ```