I don’t claim to be knowledgeable about theology. Most of my knowledge comes out of my experience and the lessons in the Bible. Every Sunday I’m home I teach 45 minutes and we boiled them down to one page for the new book, ’Through the Year with Jimmy Carter.’

Carter frames his religious authority as practical rather than academic: he does not present himself as a trained theologian, but as a lifelong Bible reader and teacher whose convictions have been shaped by lived experience. The remark also highlights his habit of teaching Sunday school when at home—an extension of the public image he cultivated after the presidency as a lay Christian committed to service and moral reflection. By noting that 45-minute lessons were “boiled down to one page” for a book, he underscores the act of distillation: translating sustained, communal teaching into concise daily readings meant for a broad audience.