---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For here the religion that languishes in…"
description: "\"For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim churches, flourishes greatly, filling the soul with..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png"
---

#  For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or…

![“For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim churches, flourishes greatly, filling the soul with a solemn joy. Face to face with Nature on the vast hills at eventide, who does not feel himself near to the Unseen?” quote by William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png)

> “For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim churches, flourishes greatly, filling the soul with a solemn joy. Face to face with Nature on the vast hills at eventide, who does not feel himself near to the Unseen?”

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

In crowded cities, religion hides; in nature’s open hills, it thrives, filling souls with solemn joy.

**In simple terms:** Nature awakens spiritual joy that city life suppresses.

Key Takeaway

Seek nature for spiritual renewal.

Themes

spirituality nature urban alienation joy

Mood

tranquil inspired

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- hiking
- gardening
- stargazing
- retreats

Key Concepts

solitude sacredness inner peace

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you feel more spiritual outdoors or indoors?
- How does nature influence your sense of the unseen?

A Different Perspective

Urban settings can also nurture spirituality for some.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Face to face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-to-face/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Flourishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishes/) [Hills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hills/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/)

## Related quotes

> [Deemest thou laborOnly is earnest?Grave is all beauty,Solemn is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-watson/deemest-thou-laboronly-is-earnest-grave-is-all-beauty-solemn-is-joy/)

[William Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-watson/)

> [From the strictest humanitarian viewpoint, any attempt to stop the processes by which over crowded cities purge themselves is not a kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/from-the-strictest-humanitarian-viewpoint-any-attempt-to-stop-the/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Come to the bridal-chamber, Death! Come to the mother's, when she feels, For the first time, her first-born's breath! Come when the blessed seals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fitz-greene-halleck/come-to-the-bridal-chamber-death-come-to-the-mother-s-when-she-feels/)

[Fitz-Greene Halleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fitz-greene-halleck/)

> [The poison was brewed in these West lands but it has spat itself everywhere by now. However far you went you would find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-poison-was-brewed-in-these-west-lands-but-it-has-spat-itself/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [Nature reaches out to us with welcoming arms, and bids us enjoy her beauty; but we dread her silence and rush into the crowded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/nature-reaches-out-to-us-with-welcoming-arms-and-bids-us-enjoy-her/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [When the gospel flourishes in the church, everything flourishes with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/when-the-gospel-flourishes-in-the-church-everything-flourishes-with-it/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“Creativity flourishes in solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/creativity-flourishes-in-solitude/)

[Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/)

> [The more opera is dead, the more it flourishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-more-opera-is-dead-the-more-it-flourishes/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [Love flourishes in expectation. Expectation strolls through the spacious fields of Time towards Opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/love-flourishes-in-expectation-expectation-strolls-through-the/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

> [Humans are remarkable: the first species in almost four billion years of life on earth that dominates the biosphere. This gives us the power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/humans-are-remarkable-the-first-species-in-almost-four-billion-years/)

[David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/)

> [The theory of permanent Muslim-Christian enmity, though it flourishes in the caves of Tora Bora and parts of the American academy, was long ago…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/the-theory-of-permanent-muslim-christian-enmity-though-it-flourishes/)

[James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/)

> [“Creativity flourishes where there is freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/creativity-flourishes-where-there-is-freedom/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [Error is a hardy plant; it flourishes in every soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/error-is-a-hardy-plant-it-flourishes-in-every-soil/)

[Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/)

> [Our democracy flourishes when people stand up for themselves and engage in the political process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-hassan/our-democracy-flourishes-when-people-stand-up-for-themselves-and/)

[Maggie Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-hassan/)

> [It has, therefore, been a favorite boast of the people of Wales and Cornwall, that the original British stock flourishes in its unmixed purity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bulfinch/it-has-therefore-been-a-favorite-boast-of-the-people-of-wales-and/)

[Thomas Bulfinch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bulfinch/)

## More by William Henry Hudson

> [“In going back we must take our present selves with us: the mind has taken a different colour, and this is thrown back upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/in-going-back-we-must-take-our-present-selves-with-us-the-mind-has/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and even the hated plantain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/i-am-not-a-lover-of-lawns-rather-would-i-see-daisies-in-their/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [There are few places in England where you can get so much wildness and desolation of sea and sandhills, wood, green marsh and grey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/there-are-few-places-in-england-where-you-can-get-so-much-wildness/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“Of all the people I have ever known you are the only one I don't know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/of-all-the-people-i-have-ever-known-you-are-the-only-one-i-don-t-know/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [There are many Green Dragons in this world of wayside inns, even as there are many White Harts, Red Lions, Silent Women and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/there-are-many-green-dragons-in-this-world-of-wayside-inns-even-as/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [The puma is, with the exception of some monkeys, the most playful animal in existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/the-puma-is-with-the-exception-of-some-monkeys-the-most-playful/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [Animals of all classes, old and young, shrink with instinctive fear from any strange object approaching them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/animals-of-all-classes-old-and-young-shrink-with-instinctive-fear/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“Boys are always inarticulate where their deepest feelings are concerned; however much they may desire it they cannot express kind and sympathetic feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/boys-are-always-inarticulate-where-their-deepest-feelings-are/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [Now that we are cool, he said, and regret that we hurt each other, I am not sorry that it happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/now-that-we-are-cool-he-said-and-regret-that-we-hurt-each-other-i-am/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [We know that our senses are subject to decay, that from our middle years they are decaying all the time; but happily it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/we-know-that-our-senses-are-subject-to-decay-that-from-our-middle/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“The most dreadful scenes, the worst in Dante's Inferno, for example, can be visualized by the inner eye; and sounds, too, are conveyed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/the-most-dreadful-scenes-the-worst-in-dante-s-inferno-for-example-can/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“One extraordinary feature of the private quintas or orchards and plantations in the vicinity of the Saladeros was the walls or hedges. These were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/one-extraordinary-feature-of-the-private-quintas-or-orchards-and/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“The British boy suffers the greatest restraint during the period when the call of nature, the instincts of play and adventure, are most urgent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/the-british-boy-suffers-the-greatest-restraint-during-the-period-when/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“It was only one of a dozen or twenty vocations which he had taken up at various times, only to drop them again as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/it-was-only-one-of-a-dozen-or-twenty-vocations-which-he-had-taken-up/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“The blue sky, the brown soil beneath, the grass, the trees, the animals, the wind, and rain, and stars are never strange to me;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/the-blue-sky-the-brown-soil-beneath-the-grass-the-trees-the-animals/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

[Explore all 22 William Henry Hudson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

## More Church quotes

> [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/)

[Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/)

> [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/)

[Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/)

> [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/)

[Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/)

> [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/)

> [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/)

[Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/)

> [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/)

[Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/)

> [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/)

[Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/)

> [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/)

[Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/)

> [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/)

> [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/)

[John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/)

> [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/)

[Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/)

> [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/)

[Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/)

[Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim churches, flourishes greatly, filling the soul with a solemn joy. Face to face with Nature on the vast hills at eventide, who does not feel himself near to the Unseen?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Henry Hudson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in-crowded-cities-or-steals/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Church"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in-crowded-cities-or-steals/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/william-henry-hudson-26200_church_for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in_496131.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim…” — William Henry Hudson",
                "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": "William Henry Hudson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "For here the religion that languishes...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in-crowded-cities-or-steals/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/for-here-the-religion-that-languishes-in-crowded-cities-or-steals/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
