Desmond Tutu Quotes (Social Rights Activist and Retired Bishop)

Filed in Quote by on March 5, 2024

Desmond Tutu Quotes is from a South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop. He rose to fame across the world during the 1980’s, as an opponent of apartheid. 

Desmond Tutu Quotes 2024 (Social Rights Activist and Retired Bishop)

Desmond Tutu Quotes

Here’s a collection of the best Desmond Tutu quotes

1. “There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.” ― Desmond Tutu

2. “We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.”― Desmond Tutu

3. “A person is a person through other people; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.” ― Archbishop Desmond Tutu

4. “Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.” ― Desmond Tutu

5. “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ― Desmond Tutu

6. “It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.” ― Desmond Tutu

7. “We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.”Desmond Tutu

8. “Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick it in someone’s back.” ― Desmond Tutu

9. “Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. And language creates the reality it describes.” ― Desmond Tutu

10. “Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.” ― Desmond Tutu

11. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” ― Desmond Tutu

12. “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” ― Desmond Tutu

13. “When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.” ― Desmond Tutu

14. “We learn from history that we don’t learn from history!” ― Desmond Tutu

15. “When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.” ― Desmond Tutu

16. “Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.” ― Desmond Tutu

17. “We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.” ― Desmond Tutu

18. “My father always used to say, “Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument.” Good sense doesn’t always lie with the loudest shouters, nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best arbiter of what is right.” ― Desmond Tutu

19. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” ― Desmond Tutu

20. Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. – Desmond Tutu

21. We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low. – Desmond Tutu

22. Differences are not intended to separate or alienate. We are different precisely to realize our need for one another. – Desmond Tutu

23. When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. – Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu Quotes to Get You Inspire 

24. We learn from history that we don’t learn from history! – Desmond Tutu

25. When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others. – Desmond Tutu

26. Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you. – Desmond Tutu. Desmond Tutu Quotes

27. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. – Desmond Tutu

28. Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. And language creates the reality it describes. – Desmond Tutu

29. Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread or stick in someone’s back. – Desmond Tutu

30. We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water. – Desmond Tutu

31. You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. – Desmond Tutu

32. There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep. – Desmond Tutu

33. Though wrong gratifies at the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime. – Desmond Tutu

34. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring. – Desmond Tutu

35. We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God. – Desmond Tutu

36. It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul. – Desmond Tutu

37. A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships. – Desmond Tutu

38. Our maturity will be judged by how well we can agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, cherish one another, and seek the greater good of the other. – Desmond Tutu

39. Do a little bit of good wherever you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. – Desmond Tutu

40. There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in. – Desmond Tutu. Desmond Tutu Quotes

41. Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life. – Desmond Tutu

42. To be neutral in a situation of injustice is to have chosen sides already. It is to support the status quo. – Desmond Tutu

43. We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. – Desmond Tutu

44. I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights. – Desmond Tutu

45. To treat anyone as if they were less than human, less than a brother or a sister, no matter what they have done, is to contravene the very laws of our humanity. – Desmond Tutu

46. There is something in us that refuses to be regarded as less than human. We are created for freedom. – Desmond Tutu

47. My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. – Desmond Tutu

Mind-Blowing Desmond Tutu Quotes

48. My message to the international community is that our silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all. It is almost like the behavior of the military junta in Burma. – Desmond Tutu

49. Renewing a relationship is a creative act. We make a new relationship. It is possible to build a new relationship regardless of the realities of the old relationship. – Desmond Tutu

50. True peace must be anchored in justice and an unwavering commitment to universal rights for all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin or any other identity attribute. – Desmond Tutu

51. In our own ways, we are all broken. Out of that brokenness, we hurt others. Forgiveness is the journey we take toward healing the broken parts. It is how we become whole again. – Desmond Tutu

52. People are not born hating each other and wishing to cause harm. It is a learned condition. – Desmond Tutu

53. We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our conflicts. – Desmond Tutu

54. I would like to share with you two simple truths: there is nothing that cannot be forgiven, and there is no one undeserving of forgiveness. – Desmond Tutu

55. One of the most blasphemous consequences of injustice, especially racist injustice, is that it can make a child of God doubt that he or she is a child of God. – Desmond Tutu

56. There is a certain kind of dignity we admire, and to which we aspire, in the person who refuses to meet anger with anger, violence with violence, or hatred with hatred. – Desmond Tutu

57. It is true that when we harm others, we harm ourselves; but it is just as true that when we help others, we also help ourselves. – Desmond Tutu

58. Healing means that our dignity is restored and we are able to move forward in our lives. – Desmond Tutu

59. We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. And we can be human only together, black and white. – Desmond Tutu

60. My first point seems overwhelmingly simple: the accidents of birth and geography determine to a very large extent to what faith we belong. – Desmond Tutu

61. It is small comfort to a mouse, if an elephant is standing on its tail, to say ‘I am impartial.’ In this instance, you are really supporting the elephant in its cruelty. – Desmond Tutu

62. Somewhere deep inside us we seem to know that we are destined for something better than strife. – Desmond Tutu

63. Do not heal in isolation. Connecting with others is how we develop compassion for others and for ourselves. – Desmond Tutu

64. In the sentiment of Mahatma Gandhi, when we practice the law of an eye for an eye, we all end up blind. – Desmond Tutu

65. Forgiveness is nothing less than the way we heal the world. We heal the world by healing each and every one of our hearts. The process is simple, but it is not easy. – Desmond Tutu

66. The quality of human life on our planet is nothing more than the sum total of our daily interactions with one another. Each time we help, and each time we harm, we have a dramatic impact on our world. – Desmond Tutu

67. In Order to truly forgive oneself, one must either explicitly or implicitly acknowledge that one’s behavior was wrong and accept responsibility or blame for such behavior. – Desmond Tutu

68. “If you want peace, don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” – Desmond Tutu

69. “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

70. “Without forgiveness, there is no future.” – Desmond Tutu

71. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu

72. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Desmond Tutu

73. “Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” – Desmond Tutu

74. “My father used to say, “Don’t raise your voice; improve your argument.” – Desmond Tutu

75. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human.” – Desmond Tutu

76. “You don’t choose your family, they are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” – Desmond Tutu

Thanks for checking out these amazing Desmond Tutu quotes! Don’t forget to take a look at our similar collection of quotes as you share with others to get inspired.

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