[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 24, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WEEK

  (Mr. ADERHOLT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, in September 1789, Congress proposed and 
sent to the States for ratification the 10 constitutional amendments 
known as the Bill of Rights. This morning I join my colleagues in 
celebrating Religious Freedom Week, designated as such by Congress and 
by Presidential proclamation in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan.
  The first amendment guards Americans from persecution by protecting 
our right to expression, protecting our words, both secular and 
religious, whether spoken, written or sung. Freedom comes at a price, 
however. The gospel, the words of Jesus Christ, cost him his life. 
Those who signed the Declaration of Independence knew it could be their 
death sentence.
  The freedoms we enjoy today as Americans are a precious gift of the 
generations who have gone before us. Religious Freedom Week is a great 
opportunity to express thanks for that gift and to celebrate the 
profound foresight that was given our Founding Fathers in protecting 
the free exercise of religion.

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