The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion, you have got a leak in your religion.

Billy Sunday, the flamboyant American evangelist of the early twentieth century, frequently contrasted what he saw as “dead” or merely formal religion with an exuberant, emotionally assured conversion experience. In his revival preaching—aimed at mass audiences and reported widely in newspapers—he often warned against a half-committed Christianity that produced guilt, sourness, or moralism rather than confidence and gladness. The image of a “leak” fits his plainspoken, colloquial style: religion should be a source of buoyant joy and moral energy; if it only makes a person miserable, something is wrong with the person’s understanding or practice of faith.

In this remark, Sunday contrasts a joyless, minimal Christianity with the exuberant, emotionally confident faith he preached in his revival campaigns. “Just enough religion to make them miserable” suggests a conscience awakened to moral demands but not relieved by assurance, forgiveness, or wholehearted commitment. The metaphor of a “leak” implies that something essential—grace, trust, or lived consistency—has escaped, leaving only pressure and guilt. The line also reflects Sunday’s broader rhetorical strategy: religion should be experienced as transformative and energizing rather than merely restrictive. It functions as both critique (of nominal belief) and invitation (to a fuller, joy-bearing faith).