Separation of Church and State
- Religious freedom is for all of us or it's for none of us. If we want to pick and choose, what's the standard? And if it's only that might makes right, then that means it's a political struggle and whoever is the ruling class at any particular time, they're the ones that have their say.
- And while there are people of good conscience on both sides of this argument, one thing has become abundantly clear to me: the heavy hand of government must not make this decision for women and families.
- Jesus is not from Georgia. Jesus does not speak English. And Jesus is not a member of the NRA.
- I think that local school districts - not the federal government - should make the decision about how they teach science, biology, economics. I want my kids to be taught about evolution; I want my kids to be taught about other theories.
- Catholicism played a large role in democratizing this country, and now Catholicism and religion can play a huge role in putting the values system right.
- Not only should we not get our moral compass from religion, as a matter of fact we don’t…if you actually look at the bible or the Koran, and get your moral compass from there, it’s horrible – stoning people to death, stoning people for breaking the Sabbath. Now, of course we don’t do that anymore, but the reason we don’t do it is that we pick out those verses of the bible that we like, and reject those verses we don’t like. What criteria do we use to pick out the good ones and reject the bad ones? Non-biblical criteria, non-religious criteria. The same criteria as guide any modern person in their moral compass that has nothing to do with religion.
- Politics is noble; it is one of the highest forms of charity, as Paul VI used to say. We sully it when we mix it with business. The relationship between the Church and political power can also be corrupted if common good is not the only converging point.
- I grew up with the Red Letter Bible, the Bible that highlighted the words of Jesus. And I've thought about that a lot, too. This is the Jesus who said, "Love your enemies," "Do good to those who hate you," "Bless those who curse you," "Pray for those who treat you badly." He
also said, "Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humbled, but everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important." He said, "Whoever wants to be your leader, must be your servant." And Jesus said, "It's the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy, for I did not come to invite good people, but to invite sinners." You know, those words used to be easier to live by before I came to congress, where fighting for leadership and soundbites and making the evening news is common practice around
here.
- A corporation is simply a form of organization used by human beings to achieve desired ends. Protecting the free-exercise rights of corporations like Hobby Lobby, Conestoga, and Mardel protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control those companies.
- Is it illegal for me to ask what religion a corporation is during a job interview?
- I’m absolutely, utterly, and completely certain that God wouldn’t be homophobic. I'd much rather go to hell - I really would much rather go to hell - than go to a homophobic heaven.
- The first reform must be the attitude. The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost. The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials.