QuoteProject
What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what language he shall speak.
George Santayana
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

A person's religion is often determined by historical circumstances rather than personal choice.

George Santayana suggests that the religion to which a person adheres is largely influenced by historical context, similar to the language they speak. This implies that both religion and language are products of cultural and societal circumstances rather than inherent truth or personal disposition, encouraging a reflection on how external factors shape individual beliefs and identities.

Themes

ReligionCultureIdentityHistoryBelief

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the influence of culture on personal beliefs.

More from George Santayana

It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
George SantayanaRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
George SantayanaRead
Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
George SantayanaRead
To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead

Similar quotes

Whoever prefers life to death, happiness to suffering, well-being to misery must defend without compromise private ownership in the means of production.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
All legitimate government is a mutual insurance company, voluntarily agreed upon by the parties to it, for the protection of their rights against wrong-doers. In its voluntary character it is precisely similar to an association for mutual protection against fire or shipwreck.
Lysander SpoonerRead
Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.
Simon PeggRead
Economic theorists, like French chefs in regard to food, have developed stylized models whose ingredients are limited by some unwritten rules. Just as traditional French cooking does not use seaweed or raw fish, so neoclassical models do not make assumptions derived from psychology, anthropology, or sociology. I disagree with any rules that limit the nature of the ingredients in economic models.
George AkerlofRead
Always go with the river of life. Never try to go against the current, and never try to go faster than the river. Just move in absolute relaxation, so that each moment you are at home, at ease, at peace with existence.
RajneeshRead
We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.
Malcolm XRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.