"The equation of religion with belief is rather recent"
- Arnold J. Toynbee
About this Quote
This quote by Arnold J. Toynbee recommends that the association in between religion and belief is a reasonably brand-new phenomenon. Historically, faith has actually been connected with a range of practices, including routines, events, and moral codes. Nevertheless, the concept that religion is mostly about belief is a more contemporary idea. This is likely due to the rise of monotheistic faiths, such as Christianity and Islam, which stress faith in a single deity. In contrast, many ancient faiths were polytheistic, suggesting that they thought in multiple gods and goddesses. Thus, the equation of faith with belief is a fairly recent development, and it is not always reflective of the spiritual practices of the past.
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"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite"
"War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it"
"It's not just the effect of technology on the environment, on religion, on the economic structure, on society, on politics, etc. It's that everything now exists in technology to the point where technology is the new and comprehensive host of nature of life"
"Art is exalted above religion and race. Not a single solitary soul these days believes in the religions of the Assyrians, the Egyptians and the Greeks... Only their art, whenever it was beautiful, stands proud and exalted, rising above all time"
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart"
