[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 54 (Tuesday, May 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H2775-H2776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER OBSERVED THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1998

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, as America prepares to observe the National 
Day of Prayer this Thursday, I wish to share a story I heard on the 
radio recently. It is the story of an exceptional group of young people 
at Lutheran High School Westland, a Christian school in Westland, 
Michigan, and their efforts to express their religious beliefs.
  Last month, the students at the school, acting on their own 
initiative, built a display of 2,000 small white crosses on the 
school's lawn to represent roughly 4,000 abortions that are performed 
daily in America.
  The students peacefully, yet powerfully, wanted to express their 
opposition to abortion. Shortly after the crosses went up, however, 
complaints were filed. The display was called tacky and political in an 
attack printed in the local newspaper.

[[Page H2776]]

  Fortunately, through community support and true dedication by the 
students, the cross display remained on the school's lawn for a full 
week as originally planned.
  But we have to pause to ask would the display have been criticized at 
all if the crosses represented deaths from cancer or drunk driving 
accidents instead of abortion? I fear, especially as we near the 
National Day of Prayer, that this story is yet another example of the 
way in which freedom of religious expression is coming under attack in 
our Nation.
  America was built upon Judeo-Christian values, but this very 
important element of our culture is now all too often not only ignored 
but also frowned upon. Children have been barred from bowing their 
heads in private prayer, from writing of their religious beliefs in 
school papers, and even from bringing the Bible to school.
  I think it is a sad commentary on our Nation that we can have a 
serious debate on the House floor about using taxpayer dollars to buy 
hypodermic needles for drug addicts, and, yet, a child cannot read the 
Bible in his or her school library.
  This is the very reason that the Religious Freedom Amendment, 
introduced by my good friend, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook), 
is so important to our Nation. The Religious Freedom Amendment protects 
the freedom of religion which we have enjoyed for so long under our 
Constitution, but which has been suppressed by recent court actions and 
trends.
  It retains the First Amendment safeguard against official religion 
and keeps school prayer voluntary, but protects it just as other forms 
of free speech are protected.
  In other words, the Religious Freedom Amendment protects religious 
expression like school prayer and the students' display at Lutheran 
High School in Westland, Michigan. It also, of course, retains the 
right of others to express their disapproval of any such display or to 
abstain from group prayer.
  The key is everyone's rights are protected. Again, I repeat, the key 
is everyone's rights are protected. This was the case in Westland 
where, fortunately, the Religious Freedom Amendment was not necessary 
this year, as the students were not required to remove their display.
  The school officials and students are quick to point out that the 
criticism of their cross display actually turned into a positive by 
generating publicly an overwhelmingly amount of support for their 
cause. But it is not always the case, as I indicated earlier. Other 
displays of religious expression, including private prayer, have been 
banned by law in locations nationwide.
  In my opinion, and in the opinion of 75 percent of Americans polled, 
it is critical for Congress to pass legislation that ensures the 
religious liberties once again receive full protection in America. I 
urge my colleagues to support the Religious Liberties Amendment that 
has been offered by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook) and others 
on the House side.

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