Understanding requires both empathy and estrangement. - Jonathan Z. Smith

"Understanding requires both empathy and estrangement."

Jonathan Z. Smith Wisdom

Historian of Religion American 1938–2017

More from Jonathan Z. Smith

"Religion is not about believing things. It is about belonging to things."

"The real issue is not belief, but belonging."

"Comparison is a fundamental cognitive tool."

"There is no data that is absolutely sacred."

"I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed."

"The best things in life are free."

"You can't have everything in life, but you can have what matters most."

"A woman's intuition is rarely wrong."