Government cannot be replaced by charities, but it can welcome them as partners instead of resenting them as rivals. My administration will put the federal government squarely on the side of America's armies of compassion. Our plan will not favor religious institutions over non-religious institutions. As president, I'm interested in what is constitutional, and I'm interested in what works. The days of discriminating against religious institutions, simply because they are religious, must come to an end.
Faith is also important to the civility of our country.
This is essential to democracy. It is also the proper way to treat human beings created in the divine image. We'll have our disagreements. Civility does not require us to abandon deeply held beliefs. Civility does not demand casual creeds and colorless convictions.