Bush on War
".the God I know is one that promotes peace and freedom. But I get great sustenance from my personal relationship. That doesn't make me think I'm a better person than you are, by the way. Because one of the great admonitions in the Good Book is, don't try to take a speck out of your eye if I've got a log in my own."
- Interview of the President by Radio and Television Ireland, June 24, 2004

"I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom. And even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise again."
-State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004

"The cause we serve is right, because it is the cause of all mankind. The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable -- and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true."
-State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004

"Americans do not presume to equate God's purposes with any purpose of our own...[prayer] teaches us to trust, to accept that God's plan unfolds in his time, not our own."
-Bush's apology for prison abuse scandal reported by the Washington Post, May 7, 2004

Bush on his personal faith
"I think that God -- that my relationship with God is a very personal relationship. And I turn to the good Lord for strength. And I turn to the good Lord for guidance. I turn to the good Lord for forgiveness."
- Interview of the President by Radio and Television Ireland, June 24, 2004

"I am sustained by the prayers of the people in this country. I guess an appropriate way to say this, it's one of the beautiful things about America and Americans from all walks of life is that they're willing to pray for the President and his family. And that's powerful. It's hard for me to describe to you what that means. It's - let me just say this: It's a leap of faith to understand."
- excerpt from interview with Diane Sawyer, Dec. 16

Religion and Politics
"I believe that God wants me to be president,"
- Quote from "Understanding the President and his God", a review of "The Jesus Factor" a PBS documentary, by Alessandra Stanley.

Gay Marriage
"I do believe in the sanctity of marriage. ... but I don't see that as conflict with being a tolerant person or an understanding person. ..."
- excerpt from interview with Diane Sawyer, Dec. 16

"Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage. The outcome of this debate is important -- and so is the way we conduct it. The same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual has dignity and value in God's sight."
-State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004

Faith-based initiatives
"It's also important to strengthen our communities by unleashing the compassion of America's religious institutions. Religious charities of every creed are doing some of the most vital work in our country -- mentoring children, feeding the hungry, taking the hand of the lonely. Yet government has often denied social service grants and contracts to these groups, just because they have a cross or a Star of David or a crescent on the wall. By executive order, I have opened billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes faith-based charities. Tonight I ask you to codify this into law, so people of faith can know that the law will never discriminate against them again."
-State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004