--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't believe in religion. Religion is…" description: "\"“I don't believe in religion. Religion is darkness”\" — Yann Martel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/yann-martel-395_darkness_i-don-t-believe-in-religion-religion-is_290673.jpg" --- # I don't believe in religion. Religion is darkness ![“I don't believe in religion. Religion is darkness” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/yann-martel-395_darkness_i-don-t-believe-in-religion-religion-is_290673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/yann-martel-395_darkness_i-don-t-believe-in-religion-religion-is_290673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/yann-martel-395_darkness_i-don-t-believe-in-religion-religion-is_290673.jpg) > ““I don't believe in religion. Religion is darkness”” [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is portrayed as a source of darkness, implying it obscures truth or freedom. **In simple terms:** Religion is seen as darkness. Key Takeaway Question belief systems. Themes faith skepticism existentialism Mood critical contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal belief - cultural critique - spiritual exploration - ethical debates Key Concepts theology philosophy of religion Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of religion do you find illuminating? - How does darkness metaphor shape your view of faith? A Different Perspective Many find comfort and community in religion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Religion?" Mr Kumar grinned broadly. "I don't believe in religion. Religion is darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/religion-mr-kumar-grinned-broadly-i-don-t-believe-in-religion/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [I believe in God... but I don't believe in religion. Religion is used to manipulate and punish. Used in a thousand ways for profit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-in-god-but-i-don-t-believe-in-religion-religion-is-used-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Grateful Dead are our religion. This is a religion that doesn't pay homage to the God that all the other religions pay homage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-grateful-dead-are-our-religion-this-is-a-religion-that-doesn-t/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [Real religion is no religion at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/real-religion-is-no-religion-at-all/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [The more I read about religion the more against religion I am. Sorry not sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-read-about-religion-the-more-against-religion-i-am-sorry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It ain't that you get religion. Religion gets you and then milks you dry. Won't let you drink a little whiskey. Won't let you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/it-ain-t-that-you-get-religion-religion-gets-you-and-then-milks-you/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [The best religion is the religion that brings you closest to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-storm/the-best-religion-is-the-religion-that-brings-you-closest-to-god/) Howard Storm > [My politics is my religion, my religion is my politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-politics-is-my-religion-my-religion-is-my-politics/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“And then there is religion. What is religion if not a guide to happiness, to bliss? Every religion instructs followers in the ways of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/and-then-there-is-religion-what-is-religion-if-not-a-guide-to/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [“The great trouble with religion - any religion - is that a religionist, having accepted certain propositions by faith, cannot thereafter judge those propositions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-trouble-with-religion-any-religion-is-that-a-religionist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Christian religion is the religion of sinners, of such as have sinned, and in whom sin in some measure still dwells. The Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/the-christian-religion-is-the-religion-of-sinners-of-such-as-have/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [I'm not a fan of religion. Religion ties people up and binds them and puts them back in chains but faith - true relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathie-lee-gifford/i-m-not-a-fan-of-religion-religion-ties-people-up-and-binds-them-and/) [Kathie Lee Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathie-lee-gifford/) > [The answer to religion is not no religion, but another way of thinking of it. Another way of being in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-answer-to-religion-is-not-no-religion-but-another-way-of-thinking/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [My music is religion, and my religion is music. They are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/my-music-is-religion-and-my-religion-is-music-they-are-one/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) > [To this day I do not know whether the power which has inspired my works is something related to religion, or is indeed religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-kollwitz/to-this-day-i-do-not-know-whether-the-power-which-has-inspired-my/) [Kathe Kollwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-kollwitz/) ## More by Yann Martel > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The word isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-word-isn-t-just-the-way-it-is-it-is-how-we-understand-it-no-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/remember-that-your-days-on-this-earth-are-counted-and-you-might-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I must say a word about fear. It's is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-must-say-a-word-about-fear-it-s-is-life-s-only-true-opponent-only/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [High calls low and low calls high. I tell you, if you were in such dire straits as I was, you too would elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/high-calls-low-and-low-calls-high-i-tell-you-if-you-were-in-such-dire/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Or rather, since Christians are so fond of capital letters, a Story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/or-rather-since-christians-are-so-fond-of-capital-letters-a-story/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Progress is unstoppable. It is a drumbeat to which we must all march. Technology helps and good ideas spread - these are two laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/progress-is-unstoppable-it-is-a-drumbeat-to-which-we-must-all-march/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-are-always-those-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-defend-god-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-never-had-problems-with-my-fellow-scientists-scientists-are-a/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/for-evil-in-the-open-is-but-evil-from-within-that-has-been-let-out/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Books are something social - a writer speaking to a reader - so I think making the reading of a book the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/books-are-something-social-a-writer-speaking-to-a-reader-so-i-think/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/nothing-beats-reason-for-keeping-tigers-away-but-be-excessively/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Uvek ima onih koji uzmu za pravo da brane Boga, kao da je Poslednja stvarnost, kao da je temeljni ram postojanja nešto slabašno i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/uvek-ima-onih-koji-uzmu-za-pravo-da-brane-boga-kao-da-je-poslednja/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity- its envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-reason-death-sticks-so-closely-to-life-isn-t-biological-necessity/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) [Explore all 570 Yann Martel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't believe in religion. 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