On religious rhetoric and the president:
The American public knowingly elected a born-again president, whom we call an evangelical (he may not call himself an evangelical Christian). But the public knowingly elected this man, and so we expect it and frankly, we respect it and approve of it.
[G.K. Chesterton] talked about America as having the soul of a church. We are a religious people. In this president, like President Reagan confronting a tragedy, we have in the case of both the Challenger and now the Columbia, the need to heal the nation. And that's what [the president] is playing, a priestly role, not just a pastor. Presidents who play the role of head of state as well as head of a political party have that function. Our presidents have always played this role. For example, Lincoln played the role of prophet; Franklin Roosevelt [played the role of pastor] saying, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." And this president, who confronted a tragedy like Reagan, was saying in essence, "This is God's creation and they have gone to be with God." He states this as fact. That's what is so surprising, and I think it is what confronts secularists and what they don't like.
Our people are a religious people, and our president has not transgressed the boundaries of what is appropriate in the public arena. He's done just what is right, attempting to heal the nation's wounds. Presidents have always done that in times of national tragedy.
This kind of [religious and biblical] language by the president is important for its healing affect. It unites the country. In this case, the astronauts' families themselves were religious people. This is religious language for a religious people, and Americans are comfortable with it.
It's comforting. But it's not just comforting to evangelical Christians; it's comforting to all Americans because we all have that God-shaped vacuum inside of us that needs to be filled and can only be filled in a personal relationship with God. [That] is what we evangelicals believe, but there's also a transcendental need that exists in our society to hearken to higher values and ideals and visions, and Bush gives energy to that higher vision, and that's good.
On evangelicals, religious diversity, and public religious language in America:
We evangelicals have to believe that religious freedom is for all, not just for us. In recent years, Muslims have entered the iconography of public life, for example, in White House snapshots, in photos with the president. This is all part of the American religious experience, and we respect that.
