[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 149 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11487-S11489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CHRISTIANITY IN PUBLIC LIFE TODAY

 Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to submit for the record 
an address delivered by my colleague, Senator Abraham from Michigan, to 
Legatus, a group of Catholic business leaders concerned to bring their 
faith into their economic and public lives.
  We live in an era, Mr. President, in which religious Americans are 
faced with a number of obstacles as they seek to live their faith in 
our public square. I believe that Senator Abraham well states the 
dilemma faced by people of faith and I hope our citizens, and Members 
of this body in particular, will heed his call for greater 
understanding and accommodation for religious principles and beliefs.
  As we face a continuing breakdown of our families and communities, I 
believe it is essential that we return to the fundamental institutions, 
beliefs and practices on which our society was founded. And to do that 
we must recognize the central role religion has and must continue to 
play in shaping our character and our community.
  The address follows:


                     CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA TODAY

       An address delivered to the Legatus Regional Conference on 
     October 11, 1997 by Senator Spencer Abraham
       First I would like to thank Tom Monahan and all the members 
     of Legatus for having me here. Your work, bringing your faith 
     to bear on your daily lives as business people and citizens, 
     is crucial, in my view, to the health of our republic and the 
     souls of our people.
       Because I am speaking today about Christianity in America, 
     I first must point out the standpoint from which I speak: I 
     am both a Christian and a United States Senator. Now, some 
     people might say that ``Christian Senator'' is an oxymoron, 
     right up there with ``political ethics'' or ``military 
     intelligence.'' And it certainly can be difficult to stand up 
     for what is right, for what Christ demands, if you listen too 
     closely to the Washington wisdom. But I think those of you 
     here today know full well how difficult it can be to bring 
     your private beliefs into your public life. Indeed, I think 
     our country as a whole suffers from the fact that we tend to 
     seek a Christian private life while the government too often 
     discourages Christian conduct.
       Christianity in America and Christianity in Washington and 
     our state capitals seem to be different things. The good 
     news, of course, is that Christianity in America is in many 
     ways thriving.
       For example, by now most Americans have heard of the 
     Promise Keepers. This organization was founded in 1990 by 
     former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney. 
     Since its inception over two and a half million men have been 
     to Promise Keepers conferences.
       Here they promise to:
       (1) Honor Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and 
     obedience to God's word.
       (2) Pursue friendships with men who will help them keep 
     their promises.
       (3) Practice spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.
       (4) Strengthen their commitment to their wives and children 
     through love, protection and devotion to the Bible.
       (5) Become more involved in their churches.
       (6) Seek racial harmony, and
       (7) Follow the Golden Rule by loving God and loving their 
     neighbors as themselves.
       That's an unfashionable set of promises to ask men to keep. 
     Yet hundreds of thousands of them came to Washington on 
     October 4, pledging to keep these promises in their daily 
     lives.
       And there are a number of other important groups working to 
     bring Christianity back into people's lives. Just a couple of 
     weeks ago in Washington there was an ``Emerging Urban Leaders 
     Conference.'' Dozens of young people--so-called ``Generation 
     Xers'' --from all over the country came together. At this 
     conference they discussed ways to cooperate and learn from 
     one another as they worked in faith-based groups struggling 
     for community renewal.
       The conference was held in a spirit of optimism because of 
     the new organizations and networks that are forming around 
     the idea that faith-based programs can save our inner cities, 
     and those who live in them.
       And the statistics from a Gallup poll conducted just this 
     year show that Christianity is very much alive among the 
     American people.
       Despite what you may hear in the press, less than 1% of the 
     American people are atheists. Meanwhile, 9 out of 10 
     Americans give a religious identification. 7 out of 10 say 
     they are a member of a church or synagogue. 6 out of 10 say 
     religion is an important part of their daily life. 77% 
     believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. 40% attend 
     church on a weekly basis--a rate that has held steady for 
     almost 40 years. 66% report that prayer is an important part 
     of their daily life. And 61% believe religion can answer all 
     or most of today's problems.
       Unfortunately, despite this common religious attitude among 
     the people, in Washington and many state capitals 
     Christianity is having to struggle.
       Let me give some examples.
       First, one of the fundamental bases of our moral order, 
     recognized by Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike, is the 
     Ten Commandments. The moral principles laid out in these 
     commandments, including love of God as well as rules against 
     murder and perjury, literally gave birth to our society. We 
     ignore them at our peril. Unfortunately, at least one judge 
     has sought to bar expression of these principles from our 
     public square.
       Recently, an Alabama judge ordered his colleague, Judge Roy 
     S. Moore, to stop displaying the Ten Commandments in his 
     courtroom. This ruling, now on hold, rests on the mistaken 
     belief that the Constitution's religion clause forbids such 
     displays. It also rests on hostility toward public 
     affirmations of our religious heritage. It can only undermine 
     our adherence to the principles underlying our moral order.
       A resolution introduced by my colleague, Jeff Sessions, 
     would state that Judge Moore should be allowed to continue 
     displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. I believe 
     that this is the appropriate response.
       Unfortunately, activist judges have not been the only ones 
     opposing any role for religion in our public life. Our 
     elected officials too often undermine worthy projects out of 
     hostility or fear toward religion.
       For example, my colleague, Georgia Senator Paul Coverdell, 
     has proposed education legislation establishing ``A-Plus 
     Accounts.'' These accounts would allow parents to use the 
     tax-free education savings accounts provided in the recent 
     Taxpayer Relief Act for their children's elementary and 
     secondary schooling, rather than just for college.
       This would give parents greater control over their 
     children's education. With help from these accounts, parents 
     could buy a home computer to enable their child to explore 
     the internet; pay for tutoring for a child having trouble 
     with math; get occupational therapy for a child with special 
     needs, or save for tuition payments and home schooling.
       The interest on these savings accounts would not be taxed 
     so long as it was used for educational expenses. And the cost 
     to the federal government and taxpayer? Zero. A+ Accounts 
     would simply allow parents to spend more of their own money 
     on their children's education.
       Unfortunately, the President has vowed to veto any bill 
     containing these provisions. This administration does not 
     want parents

[[Page S11488]]

     to control their own children's educations. Simply giving 
     parents the choice of saving their money for nonpublic and 
     parochial schools for this administration is unacceptable. 
     That is wrong, and it should be put right.
       Another wrong we need to put right is abortion. I will do 
     everything I can as a United States Senator to protect unborn 
     life. Here I must point in admiration to my wife Jane. 
     Through the Susan B. Anthony List, which works to elect pro-
     life women to Congress, and through her many personal 
     efforts, she has done a great deal to improve our ability to 
     correct the great tragedy of abortion.
       Unfortunately, the pro-life cause is subjected to a great 
     deal of unfair derision. The press focuses almost exclusively 
     on the few bad apples who resort to violence, and tar us all 
     as extremists. Meanwhile the terrible facts about partial 
     birth abortion have been denied repeatedly, despite massive 
     evidence. Even limited efforts to protect the unborn, like 
     parental notification, have consistently failed to make it 
     into law. In Washington, whether on the Senate floor or in 
     the papers, it is considered ``bad form'' to even bring up 
     the rights of the unborn.
       Indeed, it seems to be bad form to bring up any issue of 
     principle or morality, let alone religion, in Washington. Nor 
     is Congress the only place in Washington where religion and 
     traditional values are being undermined. The Executive branch 
     has played its own, destructive role.
       Recently President Clinton revoked Ronald Reagan's 
     Executive Order, decreeing that federal bureaucrats consider 
     their actions' effects on the families of this nation. As 
     stated in its preamble, President Reagan's Executive Order 
     was intended ``to ensure that the autonomy and rights of the 
     family are considered in the formulation and implementation 
     of policies by Executive departments and agencies.''
       More than any government program, America's children are 
     protected, nurtured and given the means they need to lead 
     good lives by their families. No national ``village'' can 
     replace the constant care and attention of parents. But all 
     too often federal regulations interfere with parents as they 
     try to teach, protect and nurture them.
       For example, the Family Research Council reports that the 
     Food and Drug Administration has classified home drug tests 
     as a ``Class 3 Medical Device,'' placing them in the same 
     category as heart pace makers. In effect, the FDA has barred 
     parents from using these tests in their homes--despite the 
     fact that the drug tests work in the same, simple manner as 
     home pregnancy tests.
       The irony is that the federal government is using taxpayer 
     dollars to promote the use of other medical devices, namely 
     condoms. Condoms are the subject of a $400,000 federal 
     advertising effort, featuring rock music and sexually 
     suggestive imagery, carried out under federal Department of 
     Health and Human Services regulations.
       It seems that, according to the federal government, 
     bureaucrats in Washington are the only ones qualified to make 
     certain that our children are not using drugs, and to educate 
     them concerning sexuality and contraception--matters of deep 
     importance to their spiritual lives.
       In these and other ways, Washington seems to go out of its 
     way to show contempt for traditional values. For example, the 
     federally funded Smithsonian Institution, our premier 
     teaching museum, recently refused to allow the Boy Scouts to 
     hold an Honor Court ceremony at the National Zoo. Why? 
     Because the Boy Scouts ``discriminate'' against atheists.
       I found it deeply disturbing that the Boy Scouts, one of 
     America's most important private organizations, which has 
     helped literally millions of American boys reach responsible 
     manhood, should be denied access to a federally supported 
     institution because it exercises its Constitutional right to 
     free exercise of religion.
       I also was disturbed that the Smithsonian Institution, the 
     repository of so many objects central to our heritage as a 
     people, should enforce a policy diametrically opposed to the 
     principles on which our nation was founded.
       Luckily, after I brought this travesty to the attention of 
     my colleagues in the Senate, enough pressure was applied to 
     the Smithsonian's secretary that he rescinded the order and 
     apologized for this obvious instance of intolerance for 
     religion.
       I think it is important that we remember victories like 
     this. And there have been others.
       For example, the last welfare reform bill finally 
     eliminated a destructive, ill-considered provision. That 
     provision prohibited faith-based organizations from 
     contracting with local governments to provide social 
     services. Under this provision, faith-based organizations had 
     to give up their religious character in order to provide 
     social services with public assistance. The results have been 
     tragic.
       In the late 1980's, when the homeless population was 
     rising, state and local officials in Michigan discovered 
     large inner-city churches with plenty of space. But the 
     federal government would not give any money to cities seeking 
     to use the churches for homeless shelters. The problem? All 
     religious references in the churches, from crucifixes to 
     Bible scriptures carved into the walls, had to be removed or 
     covered if government funds were to be spent.
       The same situation confronted the people of Flint, where 
     Catholic Social Services runs the North End Soup Kitchen in a 
     building owned by Sacred Heart church. In order to receive 
     government help, from what I am told, they were required to 
     cover up their crucifixes and religious icons and literally 
     hide the bibles. They even were required to create a separate 
     legal entity to accept the aid.
       This is wrong. It keeps many good organizations from 
     getting more involved in their communities. It saps our 
     religious spirit and denies people assistance they need.
       Fortunately for our communities, this has changed. The 
     charitable choice provision will see to it that states 
     consider religious organizations on an equal, 
     nondiscriminatory basis with private institutions. Faith 
     based organizations are no longer required to remove 
     ``religious art, icons or other symbols'' to receive federal 
     funds. They also are no longer required to change hiring 
     practices or create separate corporations in order to receive 
     government contracts. The only requirement these 
     organizations must meet is that they cannot use government 
     money for sectarian worship, instruction or proselytizing 
     activities.
       These reforms already have produced miraculous results. 
     Ottawa County recently was the subject of front page stories 
     in both the Washington Post and USA Today. Why? Because that 
     county's conservative, church-going communities have done 
     what no one else had seemed able to do: get every one of its 
     able-bodied welfare recipients into a paying job. Every one.
       Governor Engler's innovative ``Project Zero'' deserves a 
     great deal of credit for these results. But even more 
     important, in my view, has been the participation of local 
     churches and parishioners.
       Faith-based organizations and individuals have served as 
     mentors, helping people in trouble get their lives back on 
     track. Whether by volunteering to babysit, by helping out 
     with a loan, or by offering friendship and spiritual 
     guidance, these people gave of themselves in ways that have 
     changed lives for the better--in ways that until recently 
     were considered illegal.
       I think the Ottawa County experience shows that welfare 
     reform is a solid step forward. We need to build on it, and 
     try to move public policy in a way that recognizes the 
     fundamental role of religion in our lives, and the 
     fundamental principles religion gives us to guide our lives.
       Most important, of course, is our duty to protect our 
     children, born and unborn. And, on that front, I am hopeful 
     that we will finally make some progress in the battle against 
     abortion.
       The House of Representatives has finally joined the Senate 
     by voting to ban partial birth abortion. I know I, and 
     thousands upon thousands of other people, was deeply 
     disturbed by the tactics of some proponents of abortion in 
     defending this practice. But I think the word is finally out: 
     Partial birth abortion is dangerous, unnecessary, and simply 
     unacceptable. And I am confident that, despite the 
     President's veto, we will finally bring this inexcusable 
     practice to a halt, once and for all.
       But this struggle, over the most fundamental principle of 
     all--the sanctity of human life--shows why we can't let 
     liberals have their way.
       I want to encourage all of you to get involved and stay 
     involved in public life. Of course, you already are involved 
     by being here in Legatus. But I think America needs you to do 
     even more.
       Frankly, there are plenty of groups organized on the other 
     side who have a far different and far more radical agenda 
     than those of us who want to restore traditional religious 
     values. They want abortion on demand, fully-funded by 
     taxpayer dollars up to and including the ninth month. They 
     want government-paid physician assisted suicide, paid for by 
     the Medicare and Medicaid plans to which you are forced to 
     contribute. They want to push religion all the way out of our 
     public life, from our schools, from our courthouses, and from 
     our communities.
       But there is no reason to despair. In fact, I think it 
     would show an inappropriate lack of faith to despair for our 
     country. With God's help, you and I can make a difference. We 
     can stand up for the unborn. We can defend our families and 
     the sanctity of marriage against deluded lawmakers and the 
     smut put out by so-called ``entertainers.'' We can fight to 
     bring God back into the classroom and the courtroom. We can 
     make America beautiful again by reminding her that, whatever 
     Washington might say, we are a nation Under God and 
     answerable to Him for our actions.
       I am not here to tell you that this task will be easy. But 
     I believe I share with you the conviction that God calls us 
     to work for a more humane public square, in which the voice 
     of faith can be heard. I believe I share with you also the 
     conviction that God is calling all of us, in and out of 
     Washington and Lansing, to renew our public life, to restore 
     it to spiritual health by fighting for the same principles 
     for which Christ died.
       The cross may be heavy, but surely not so heavy as His. And 
     we owe it to ourselves, our children and our God to work, in 
     our homes, in our parishes and local communities, in our 
     private lives and in our public lives, to make our society 
     recognize the value of unborn life, the value of the lives of 
     those who are old, ill or simply inconvenient, the value of a 
     life not lived for the pleasure of the moment, but for the 
     glory of God.

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