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Religious conflict can be the bloodiest and cruelest conflicts that turn people into fanatics.

We ought to recognize that religious strife is not the consequence of differences among people. It's about conflicts between creation stories.

A strong case can be made for religious leaders to speak out on political issues.

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned that many regions of this world are suffering from the effects of armed conflicts with religious aspects. I believe that the differences of faith are not the real reason for these conflicts.

Religion is never the problem; it's the people who use it to gain power.

Difference of religion breeds more quarrels than difference of politics.

When religious leaders get involved in elections, it is usually with a reactionary social agenda.

In American religious history, theological qualms tend to get pushed aside when politics intervenes.

Religion looms as large as an elephant in the United States, to the point that being nonreligious is about the biggest handicap a politician running for office can have, bigger than being gay, unmarried, thrice married, or black.

While religious tolerance is surely better than religious war, tolerance is not without its liabilities. Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us incapable of criticizing ideas that are now patently absurd and increasingly maladaptive.