--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot…" description: "\"Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png" --- # Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality… ![“Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png) > “Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Atheism is portrayed as a coping mechanism for those uncomfortable with divine concepts. **In simple terms:** Atheism is seen as a fallback for fear of God. Key Takeaway Consider why belief systems provide comfort. Themes faith existential doubt comfort coping Mood skeptical contemplative Type argumentative philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - debate - spiritual seeking Key Concepts philosophy theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - What drives people toward faith or doubt? - Can fear be a valid reason for belief? A Different Perspective Reduces complex belief to a stereotype. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheism Crutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism-crutch-3990989/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Crutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crutch/) [Crutches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crutches/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-god/) ## Related quotes > [When you're together with someone for some time, you will automatically depend on them as if they were a crutch. And then it ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-wilde/when-you-re-together-with-someone-for-some-time-you-will/) [Kim Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-wilde/) > [For age with stealing steps Hath clawed me with his crutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vaux-2nd-baron-vaux-of-harrowden/for-age-with-stealing-steps-hath-clawed-me-with-his-crutch/) [Thomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vaux-2nd-baron-vaux-of-harrowden/) > [I’m not going to pick her up and carry her screaming to the basement,” Trent said. “It’s a workday. Besides, she has a crutch.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-m-not-going-to-pick-her-up-and-carry-her-screaming-to-the-basement/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [A liberal will cut off your leg so he can hand you a crutch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-brown/a-liberal-will-cut-off-your-leg-so-he-can-hand-you-a-crutch/) [Jim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-brown/) > [It is often said that the Church is a crutch. Of course it's a crutch. What makes you think you don't limp?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/it-is-often-said-that-the-church-is-a-crutch-of-course-it-s-a-crutch/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Whatever you do, don't ever use a crutch, and don't ever think of having an excuse for not having said, 'Yeah, I did my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadore-sharp/whatever-you-do-don-t-ever-use-a-crutch-and-don-t-ever-think-of/) [Isadore Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadore-sharp/) > [For me the curse is a crutch, but the con is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/for-me-the-curse-is-a-crutch-but-the-con-is-everything/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [If you always have a crutch, you don't learn anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-savage/if-you-always-have-a-crutch-you-don-t-learn-anything/) [Ben Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-savage/) > [I look at smoking as a crutch, and as an actor I would like strip away as many crutches as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-forlani/i-look-at-smoking-as-a-crutch-and-as-an-actor-i-would-like-strip-away/) [Claire Forlani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-forlani/) > [... religion is a crutch, and only the crippled need crutches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/religion-is-a-crutch-and-only-the-crippled-need-crutches/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [The crutch of Time accomplishes more than the club of Hercules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-crutch-of-time-accomplishes-more-than-the-club-of-hercules/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [A lot of the problems teenagers go through, it's better for them to go through them on their own. If you always have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-savage/a-lot-of-the-problems-teenagers-go-through-it-s-better-for-them-to-go/) [Ben Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-savage/) > [Being on one crutch to no crutches is a huge difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-vonn/being-on-one-crutch-to-no-crutches-is-a-huge-difference/) [Lindsey Vonn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-vonn/) > [Racial humor was about 35% of my act when I first started. But I realized that it was a crutch. What brought it home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/racial-humor-was-about-35-of-my-act-when-i-first-started-but-i/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Most of us need the crutch at times; but of course it is idiotic to use the crutch when our own legs (our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/most-of-us-need-the-crutch-at-times-but-of-course-it-is-idiotic-to/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More Atheism 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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [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/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Stoppard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot-bear-the-reality-of-god/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot-bear-the-reality-of-god/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/tom-stoppard-437_atheism_atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot_1258327.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.” — Tom Stoppard", "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": "Tom Stoppard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Atheism is a crutch for those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot-bear-the-reality-of-god/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/atheism-is-a-crutch-for-those-who-cannot-bear-the-reality-of-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 } } ] } ```