I am an atheist and if an atheist and a pope think the same things there must be something true. There must be some human truth that is beyond religion.

People still kill in the name of religion. We haven't evolved to the point where we're one tribe called humans.

In the 21st century I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life regardless of race or religion.

I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind.

Now I think one of the reasons why religion developed in the way that it did over the centuries was precisely to curb this murderous bent that we have as human beings.

I try to just talk about human stories and what I think about religion or teapots or whatever.

The earth is the Lord's fullness thereof: this is no longer a hollow dictum of religion but a directive for economic action toward human brotherhood.

Nothing has done more to separate and divide human beings one from another than exclusivist organized religion.

Religious wars are not caused by the fact that there is more than one religion but by the spirit of intolerance... the spread of which can only be regarded as the total eclipse of human reason.

Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization.