[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 789 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 789

 Reaffirming the importance of religion in the lives of United States 
    citizens and their freedom to exercise those beliefs peacefully.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2012

 Mr. Fincher submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Reaffirming the importance of religion in the lives of United States 
    citizens and their freedom to exercise those beliefs peacefully.

Whereas the first act of Congress in 1774 was a prayer, and Congress still 
        begins its daily sessions with prayer today;
Whereas State conventions from 1787 to 1788 that met to ratify the United States 
        Constitution began with prayer;
Whereas the constitutions of each of the 50 States explicitly have recognized or 
        expressed gratitude to God in either the preamble or body;
Whereas every President in United States history has recognized God and 
        religious faith in the public life of the Nation;
Whereas since the earliest years of the United States, Congress has appropriated 
        money yearly to pay Congressional and military chaplains;
Whereas Congress passed a law in 1865 to have the phrase ``In God We Trust'' 
        engraved on United States coinage in 1865;
Whereas the phrase ``In God We Trust'' became the national motto in 1956 and is 
        prominently displayed in both the United States House and Senate 
        Chambers;
Whereas the Bible is the best-selling book of all time;
Whereas a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey from 2007 shows that 92 
        percent of United States citizens believe in God and 78.4 percent 
        identify themselves with Christianity;
Whereas of the $298,420,000,000 of charitable contributions made in the United 
        States in 2010, 32 percent, or $95,880,000,000, went to religious 
        organizations according to the National Park Service;
Whereas, from September 2010 to September 2011, 64,300,000 people in the United 
        States volunteered and 33.2 percent did so for religious organizations, 
        the highest percentage of all categories according to the Bureau of 
        Labor Statistics; and
Whereas a 2006 to 2007 study by the Association of Religion Data Archives shows 
        that 30.3 percent of religious people perform charity work, and of that 
        30.3 percent, 75.9 percent are part of Christian congregations: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the importance of religion in the lives of 
        United States citizens and their freedom to exercise those 
        beliefs peacefully;
            (2) recognizes that Judeo-Christian heritage has played a 
        strong role in the development of the United States and in the 
        lives of many of the Nation's citizens;
            (3) rejects efforts to remove evidence of Judeo-Christian 
        heritage and references to God from public structures and 
        resources; and
            (4) expresses support for preserving the freedom to 
        exercise religious beliefs in the United States.
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