Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, William Jennings Bryan, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King–indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history–were not only motivated by faith but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. To say that men and women should not inject their “personal morality” into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

This quote is from the President’s “Call to Renewal Keynote Address,” on June 28, 2006. Emphasis mine. I used this in my Rotary address earlier today!