I do not think I could myself be brought to support a man for office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I've always wanted to be my own person and stand by the things I believe in and I thought I might lose that independence if I ran for political office.
I'm not preaching about things you should do, I'm not political or anything. I'm probably not the best role model.
We didn't grow up overly religious, but there was an understanding that you had a duty as a citizen to help your fellow man.
Any individual that would be running for office, if they would say something that crosses a line and, in the end, is so significant, so major, that you couldn't support them, I'd have to withdraw support from any individual, okay?
Because I never thought the Lord would treat me any different from any other honest man or that I had an official position that compelled the Lord to help me in any other way than He would help any other man.
There are a lot of folks who endorsed me that I would not want to see as president.
I can't be a spokesman for anything other than my own concerns. I have to be free to wrestle with my own preoccupations, and if I'm bringing any political awareness to that process, that mitigates my freedom.
I believed what my father taught me about the separation of church and state, so when I was President I never invited Billy Graham to have services in the White House because I didn't think that was appropriate. He was injured a little bit, until I explained it to him.
I was not content to believe in a personal devil and serve him, in the ordinary sense of the word. I wanted to get hold of him personally and become his chief of staff.
I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.