Atheist Quote by Terry Pratchett
““Nor had he, as far as he knew, ever believed in anything. It had been embarrassing, because he quite wanted to believe in something, since he recognized that belief was the lifebelt that got most people through the choppy waters of Life. He'd have liked to believe in a supreme God, although he'd have preferred a half-hour's chat with Him before committing himself, to clear up one or two points. He'd sat in all sorts of churches, waiting for that single flash of blue light, and it hadn't come. And then he'd tried to become an official Atheist and hadn't got the rock-hard, self-satisfied strength of belief even for that. And every single political party had seemed to him equally dishonest. And he'd give up on ecology...Then he'd tried believe in the Universe, which seemed sound enough until he'd innocently started reading books with words like Chaos and Time and Quantum in the titles. He'd found that even the people whose job of work was, so to speak, the Universe, didn't really believe in it and were actually quite proud of not knowing what or even if it could theoretically exist.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett, 1983
The character struggles with belief, trying religion, atheism, and scientific concepts, yet remains unsettled.
In simple terms: He searches for belief but finds none satisfying.
Explore personal values beyond organized belief.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal crisis
- philosophical reflection
- search for purpose
- intellectual inquiry
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What gives your life meaning without formal belief?
- Can uncertainty be a source of freedom?
Belief may be elusive; meaning can be self‑crafted.