I'm a person who has always believed that you tell people the truth, and they'll make reasonable decisions. Truth is powerful.
John F. KerryRead
I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an Atheist. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of separating personal beliefs from political responsibilities.
John F. Kerry's statement highlights the necessity of maintaining a clear distinction between individual religious beliefs and the principles of governance in a diverse society. In a nation like the United States, where people hold a variety of faiths and beliefs, it is essential for laws and policies to be based on secular reasoning rather than on any one person's religious convictions, thereby ensuring fairness and respect for all individuals.
Themes
BeliefsLegislationReligionSeparationGovernment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the role of religion in public policy.
More from John F. Kerry
All quotes βConfronting climate change is, in the long run, one of the greatest challenges that we face, and you can see this duty or responsibility laid down in scriptures, clearly.
John F. KerryRead
Unlike Washington, which is stuck in ideological gridlock, Americans feel the impact of climate change in their own hometowns and they know something must be done.
John F. KerryRead
Here I am in the state of New Mexico. George Bush is still in the state of denial. New Mexico has five electoral votes. The state of denial has none. I like my chances.
John F. KerryRead
Democracy relies on free speech. Yes, say anything you want, but it relies even more on the speech being truthful. It is the truth, after all, that sets us free.
John F. KerryRead
War should be not a war of choice; it should be a war of necessity. And it should be a last resort.
John F. KerryRead
Similar quotes
Aliens might be surprised to learn that in a cosmos with limitless starlight, humans kill for energy sources buried in the sand
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
When a man is proud because he can understand and explain the writings of Chrysippus, say to yourself, 'if Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this man would have had nothing to be proud of.'
EpictetusRead
I still believe that capitalism is too harsh and I believe that, even within that, there is a lot of satisfaction and beauty if you happen to be one of the lucky ones, although that doesn't eradicate the reality of the suffering. It's all true at once, kind of humming and sublime.
George SaundersRead
And if there's a moral there, I don't know what it is, save maybe that we should take our goodbyes whenever we can.
Neil GaimanRead
Among the many problems with taking the Bible literally is it reduces the most mysterious and complex of realities to simple - even simplistic - terms. Yes, scripture speaks of fire and damnation and eternal bliss, but the Bible is the product of human hands and hearts, and much of the imagery is allegorical, not meteorological.
Jon MeachamRead
There are many things akin to highest deity that are still obscure. Some may be too subtle for our powers of comprehension, others imperceptible to us because such exalted majesty conceals itself in the holiest part of its sanctuary, forbidding access to any power save that of the spirit. How many heavenly bodies revolve unseen by human eye!
Seneca The YoungerRead