--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our age could be characterized as a…" description: "\"“Our age could be characterized as a manifold experiment in faithlessness, and if it has as yet produced no effective understanding of the practicaliti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg" --- # Our age could be characterized as a manifold experiment in… ![“Our age could be characterized as a manifold experiment in faithlessness, and if it has as yet produced no effective understanding of the practicalities of faith, it has certainly produced massive evidence of the damage and disorder of its absence.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg) > ““Our age could be characterized as a manifold experiment in faithlessness, and if it has as yet produced no effective understanding of the practicalities of faith, it has certainly produced massive evidence of the damage and disorder of its absence.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern society’s loss of faith leads to chaos, but the lack of practical understanding of faith worsens disorder. **In simple terms:** Loss of belief creates disorder. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful belief systems to restore order. Themes faith society order disorder Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - community building - personal spirituality - public policy Key Concepts philosophy theology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does faith mean to you personally? - How can societies find cohesion without traditional belief? A Different Perspective Faith can be replaced by other values, though the need for meaning remains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age Characterized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-characterized-2725137/) [Experiment Faithlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment-faithlessness-2725135/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Faithlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faithlessness/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Manifold Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifold-experiment-2725138/) [Practicalities Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicalities-faith-2725136/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [A grain of devotion is more valuable thank tons of faithlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/a-grain-of-devotion-is-more-valuable-thank-tons-of-faithlessness/) [A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/) > [In Kali yuga, whole atmosphere is surcharged with faithlessness, Material sense gratification is standard of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/in-kali-yuga-whole-atmosphere-is-surcharged-with-faithlessness/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [It could be that our faithlessness is a cowering cowardice born of our very smallness, a massive failure of imagination... If we were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-could-be-that-our-faithlessness-is-a-cowering-cowardice-born-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [ “...\[I\]f at the time of its release the soul is tainted and impure, because it has always associated with the body and cared for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-f-at-the-time-of-its-release-the-soul-is-tainted-and-impure-because/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Fearfulness is Faithlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaison-ndlovu/fearfulness-is-faithlessness/) [Jaison Ndlovu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaison-ndlovu/) > [“No plumbline could fathom the depths of my faithlessness !! LMS says this to the rector who comes in to visit him in hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-francis-byrne/no-plumbline-could-fathom-the-depths-of-my-faithlessness-lms-says/) [John Francis Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-francis-byrne/) > [“Lets say from the first moment of my life, everything's always been about me and nothing else, including apocalypse and chaos; let's say even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/lets-say-from-the-first-moment-of-my-life-everything-s-always-been/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“And thus it passed on from Candlemass until after Easter, that the month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malory/and-thus-it-passed-on-from-candlemass-until-after-easter-that-the/) [Thomas Malory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malory/) > [God gave you not a spirit of faithlessness, not a spirit of despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/god-gave-you-not-a-spirit-of-faithlessness-not-a-spirit-of-despair/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) > [“I'm always talking to God about whether or not he exists - that's how I know I'm a theist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/i-m-always-talking-to-god-about-whether-or-not-he-exists-that-s-how-i/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“No plumbline could fathom the depths of my faithlessness !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-francis-byrne/no-plumbline-could-fathom-the-depths-of-my-faithlessness/) [John Francis Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-francis-byrne/) > [“So spake the Seraph Abdiel faithful found, Among the faithless, faithful only hee; Among innumerable false, unmov'd, Unshak'n, unseduc'd, unterrifi'd His Loyaltie he kept,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/so-spake-the-seraph-abdiel-faithful-found-among-the-faithless-2/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“money make the world and your family turn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-hickman/money-make-the-world-and-your-family-turn/) [Omar Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-hickman/) > [“people who only love once in their lives are really shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/people-who-only-love-once-in-their-lives-are-really-shallow-people/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“ “Faith is what’s wrong with the world, Aidan. Or don’t you follow the news?” “That’s not faith,” he says. “That’s the complete lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyma-rizwaan-khan/faith-is-what-s-wrong-with-the-world-aidan-or-don-t-you-follow-the/) [Cyma Rizwaan Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyma-rizwaan-khan/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Faith quotes > [“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/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [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/) > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [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/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/) [Matt Morris (1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-morris-1/) > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) [Browse all 37,796 Faith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our age could be characterized as a manifold experiment in faithlessness, and if it has as yet produced no effective understanding of the practicalities of faith, it has certainly produced massive evidence of the damage and disorder of its absence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-manifold-experiment-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faith" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-manifold-experiment-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/wendell-berry-236_faith_our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-mani_280907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our age could be characterized as a manifold experiment in faithlessness, and if it has as yet produced no…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our age could be characterized as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-manifold-experiment-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/our-age-could-be-characterized-as-a-manifold-experiment-in/#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 } } ] } ```