To be religious is to adhere to certain beliefs and practices but above all, it is to do good and be good. There may be diversity in religions across the world; however, its core remains the same for all of us – love, kindness, and ensuring that goodness prevails.
Religion is also not just about following religious ethics to guide us, it’s about learning and living the power of faith. The challenges we face are never-ending, but during the darkest of times we need hope and encouragement the most. That’s what our faith gives us.
In the end, being pious doesn’t solely rely on our commitment to a sacred institution. It doesn’t depend on how often we pray, either. Because it is devotion to righteousness, desire to spread compassion, and having unshakeable faith that makes one religious.
If you’re going through something, these 30 religious quotes about the true meaning and purpose of religion may help you get some perspective.
Inspiring Religious Quotes
For God so loved the World that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – Jesus Christ
More and more people care about religious tolerance as fewer and fewer care about religion. – Alexander Chase
However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them? – Buddha
All religions must be tolerated… for every man must get to heaven in his own way. – Epictetus
The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion. – Thomas Paine
Prayer is aligning ourselves with the purposes of God. – E. Stanley Jones
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. – Thich Nhat Hanh
When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator. – Mahatma Gandhi
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. – Dalai Lama
I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won’t let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion. – Malcolm X
I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs. – Frederick Douglass
The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself. – Richard Burton
Religion is a fashionable substitute for Belief. – Oscar Wilde
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. – Soren Kierkegaard
Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams – they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do – they all contain truths. – Muhammad Ali
Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. – Pope John Paul II
Belief is truth held in the mind; faith is a fire in the heart. – Joseph Fort Newton
I don’t want my children to be what I want them to be. I want my children to become everything God created them to be.
Religion is part of the human make-up. It’s also part of our cultural and intellectual history. Religion was our first attempt at literature, the texts, our first attempt at cosmology, making sense of where we are in the universe, our first attempt at health care, believing in faith healing, our first attempt at philosophy. – Christopher Hitchens
When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion. – Abraham Lincoln
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. – C.S. Lewis
It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow. – Calvin Coolidge
Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car. – Garrison Keillor
People who rely most on God rely least on themselves. – Lemuel K. Washburn
I judge a religion as being good or bad based on whether its adherents become better people as a result of practicing it. – Joe Mullally
True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness.- Albert Einstein
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live as if there isn’t and to die to find out that there is. – Albert Camus
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. – Albert Einstein
I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings. Like Confucius of old, I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and the angels. – Pearl S. Buck
Share these 30 religious quotes reminding others the power of faith and goodness.