[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 4, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E19-E20]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        VOLUNTARY SCHOOL PRAYER

                                 ______


                           HON. BILL EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a constitutional 
amendment to allow for voluntary school prayer. The Founding Fa- 
[[Page E20]] thers intended religion to provide a moral anchor for our 
democracy. Wouldn't they be puzzled to return to modern-day America and 
find, among elite circles in academia and the media, a scorn for the 
public expression of religious values. I find it ironic that while 
taxpayer's dollars are being used by bureaucrats to distribute condoms 
in our public schools across America, our children are prohibited from 
reading the Bible or offering voluntary prayer in public schools. This 
sends a powerful message to our children--and it is the wrong message.
  One of the many liberties our forefathers founded this great Nation 
upon was freedom of religion; a freedom to pray to the God we want, 
when we want, and where we want. Unfortunately, this freedom has been 
eroded by the Supreme Court over the last few decades. I firmly believe 
that no one should be forced to pray, especially if a certain prayer is 
contrary to an individual's beliefs. But, there can be no question that 
every American citizen has the right to pray voluntarily whenever and 
wherever he or she chooses, and that includes children in public 
schools. This is protected under the first amendment; ``Congress shall 
make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the 
free exercise thereof.'' It is that second part that I ask you to pay 
special attention to today.
  As President Reagan so eloquently stated in 1982, ``the First 
Amendment of the Constitution was not written to protect the people of 
this country from religious values; it was written to protect religious 
values from government tyranny.''


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