Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation.
Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation.
We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.
If all it took was someone proclaiming I believe Jesus Christ and that he died for my sins, and that was all there was to it, people wouldn’t have to keep coming to church, would they.
I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.
Those opposed to abortion cannot simply invoke God’s will-they have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths.
In our household, the Bible, the Koran and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology.
On Easter or Christmas Day, my mother might drag me to church, just as she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the Chinese New Year celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites.
I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.
If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount.
We have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, and their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own.
Higher education cannot be a luxury reserved just for a privileged few. It is an economic necessity for every family. And every family should be able to afford it.
This is American leadership at its best. We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.
The US and Australia have a lot in common. One of the things we have in common is we produce a lot of carbon.
This week I’ve travelled more than 15,000 miles from America to China to Burma to Australia. I have no idea what time it is right now.
We do not benefit from a relationship with China or any other country in which we put our values and our ideals aside.
We’re opposing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot-down of MH17.
He described to me how crocodiles kill more people than sharks. There are just a lot of things in Australia that can kill you.
I believe that the best measure of whether a nation is going to be successful is whether they are tapping the talents of their women.
We will continue to deepen our engagement using every element of American power – diplomacy, military, economic development, the power of our values and our ideals.