“I believe that you can reach the point where there is no longer any difference between developing the habit of pretending to believe and developing the habit of believing.”

“When men stop believing in God, it isn't that they then believe in nothing: they believe in everything.”

“I don't know, maybe we're always looking for the right place, maybe it's within reach, butwe don't recognize it. Maybe to recognize it, we have to believe in it.”

“...we can only add to the world, where we believe it ends, more parts similar to those we already know (an expanse made again and always of water and land, stars and skies).”

“What did I really think fifteen years ago? A nonbeliever, I felt guilty in the midst of all those believers. And since it seemed to me that they were in the right, I decided to believe, as you might decide to take an aspirin: It can't hurt and you might get better.”

“INTERVIEWERDo you believe in God?ECOWhy does one love a certain person one day and discover the next day that the love is gone? Feelings, alas, disappear without justification, and often without a trace.INTERVIEWERIf you don’t believe in God, then why have you written at such great length about religion?ECOBecause I do believe in religion. Human beings are religious animals, and such a characteristic feature of human behavior cannot be ignored or dismissed.”

“I wrote a novel because I had a yen to do it. I believe this is sufficient reason to set out to tell a story.”