"As crucial as religion has been and is to the life of the nation, America's unifying force has never been a specific faith, but a commitment to freedom - not least freedom of conscience."

"I believe history will come to view 9/11 as an event on par with November 22, 1963, the date on which John F. Kennedy was murdered, cutting short a presidency that was growing ever more promising. Dreams died that day in Dallas it is easy to imagine the 1960s turning out rather differently had President Kennedy lived."

"The traditional religious right's failure to restore public-school prayer or pass an antiabortion constitutional amendment has likely helped fuel the spread of the more extreme dominionist school."

"The problem for those who assert biblical authority in support of traditional definitions of marriage is that one could, with equal validity, assert that the lending of money or certain kinds of haircuts are forbidden by God, or that slavery and the subjugation of women are authorized by the Lord."

"The highest expression of strength is tenderness toward the vulnerable. A lesson woven into the fabric of human history — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Great leaders cultivate leaders, not merely followers. A lesson woven into the fabric of human history."

"To speak the truth in a season of deceit is an act of supreme bravery. A lesson woven into the fabric of human history."

"By failing seriously to confront the most predicable economic crisis in our nation's history, the President's policies are committing us and our children to a diminished future."