[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 48 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3718-S3721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BYRD:
  S.J. Res. 35. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the 
Constitution of the United States to clarify that the Constitution 
neither prohibits voluntary prayer nor requires prayer in schools; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce an amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States to clarify that the Constitution 
neither prohibits voluntary prayer nor requires prayer in the public 
schools of this country.

[[Page S3719]]

  On September 25, 1885, an entrancing poem was published in the 
Glenville Crescent, the local paper in Gilmer County, West Virginia. 
The poem was attributed to Mrs. Ellen Rudell King, the wife of the 
Reverend David King, a man of the cloth who ministered to the citizens 
of Glenville, WV. Over time, people learned that the poem may have been 
written by the reverend as a gift to his wife Ellen, his soulmate. Just 
as my beloved Erma was my soulmate the West Virginia Reverend David 
King also had a soulmate, his wife Ellen.
  Today we recognize that his poem was a gift not just to his wife 
Ellen but also to the State of West Virginia and to the Nation. In 
fact, when the poem was published at the end of the 19th century, its 
tone was so melodious, its message so inspiring, it drew the attention 
of a composer named Howard Engle. West Virginians know the story of 
what happened next. Howard Engle liked the poem so much that he decided 
to compose a tune to accompany its lyrical verse. In 1961, his musical 
composition became the West Virginia State song, known by its title 
today as ``The West Virginia Hills.'' Let me read for the Senators just 
a few of the stanzas of this beautiful song:

       Oh, West Virginia hills! How majestic and how grand, with 
     their summits bathed in glory, like our Prince Immanuel's 
     land! Is it any wonder then, that my heart with rapture 
     thrills, as I stand once more with loved ones on those West 
     Virginia hills?
       Oh, the West Virginia hills! Where my childhood hours were 
     passed, where I often wandered lonely, and the future tried 
     to cast; many are our visions bright, which the future ne'er 
     fulfills; but how sunny were my daydreams on those West 
     Virginia hills!
       Oh, the West Virginia hills, how unchanged they seem to 
     stand, with their summits pointed skyward to the great 
     Almighty's land! Many changes I can see, which my heart with 
     sadness fills; but no changes can be noticed in those West 
     Virginia hills.

  Ah, ah, those West Virginia hills. For West Virginians, this song, 
with its prayerful verse, has always been an uplifting reminder of the 
memories of our childhoods, our fervent hopes for a bright future, a 
testament to the beauty of our resplendent natural landscape, and a 
source of solace in time of trouble.
  Regrettably, since January, West Virginians have had good reason to 
seek such solace. As witnessed by all of America since this year began, 
West Virginia has been beset by unspeakable tragedy. We have lost 18 
coal miners--favorite sons of the West Virginia hills--in Boone County, 
in Logan County, in Mingo County, and in Upshur County. In the words of 
our ancient sweet song, these tragic events ``our heart with sadness 
fills.''
  But we West Virginians stand strong despite our grief, steadfast in 
our devotion to one another and to Almighty God, from whom all good 
things come, from whom all blessings flow.
  In our Easter season we celebrate the belief in both the resurrection 
of the dead and the life of the world to come. We know that while our 
way may not always be God's way, His way is the only way. Therefore, 
our way must be His way. We know that life's most bitter travails can, 
at times, sear the human soul, painfully driving good people to their 
knees--sometimes through no fault of their own. But we also know that 
as long as there is life, there is hope, and we know that hardship can 
be endured and in fact diminished through the power--the ever working 
power--of prayer. We know this. We know it. We know it based on 
experience.
  Over these past 5 years, as I watched my childhood sweetheart, my 
darling Erma--my darling Erma, who is in heaven now--I watched her fall 
ill and become increasingly frail. But she and I prayed for each other. 
We prayed every day. There were many good times--many good times--but 
there were also times that were difficult. Through it all, it was our 
abiding faith, Erma's and mine which we celebrated in prayer together, 
which I believe kept us devoted to one another and to God for nearly 69 
years, through thick and thin, through good times and hard times. Our 
marriage was literally made in heaven, and I believe its duration was 
God's answer to our shared prayer.
  So when I say that I know prayer can work miracles and move 
mountains, I speak from experience. I am a witness to the power of 
prayer.
  But I am not unique. West Virginians have been and always will be a 
deeply spiritual and reverent people. In that sense, it remains as true 
today as it was in 1885 that no changes can be noticed in those West 
Virginia hills.
  The Apostle Paul has told us that in the face of affliction--in the 
face of affliction--it is our job not to give in to discouragement but 
to proclaim the truth openly and to commend ourselves to every man's 
conscience before God.
  So for people of faith, the question remains how best to do this. How 
do we lift our heads from the darkness to the light--from the darkness 
to the light? How do we help ourselves and others to keep the faith? 
The answer lies in three simple words: Let us pray. The Gospel, St. 
John 14, verse 13, tells us that we can have this confidence in God: 
that he hears us--yes, that he hears us whenever we ask for anything 
according to His will. Not always according to our will but according 
to His will.

  The importance of prayer throughout all of the millennia is 
recognized by people of faith in nearly every denomination. Now get 
this: Yet, in America, prayer is increasingly estranged from public 
life. Some are hesitant to pray for fear they might offend someone 
else. How ridiculous, to think that prayer can be offensive. Offensive 
to whom? Nonbelievers? Well, they need only close their ears. How sad, 
really, that we cannot share our faith, particularly in an effort to 
comfort others, without being accused of offending someone or, worse, 
violating the first amendment to the Constitution.
  Regrettably, that is the unfortunate situation that confronts the 
faithful in America today. How can this be possible? Does anyone really 
believe this state of affairs is consistent with the intent of the 
Framers of the Constitution?
  I have referenced the religious beliefs of our Founders many times on 
the Senate floor, but I think it bears repeating. I think we should not 
forget the mindset of those who established our representative 
democracy, this Republic. They were not afraid of prayer. They believed 
in a Supreme Being, and they did not hesitate to say so. They were 
proud of their faith. They proclaimed it from the rooftops; yes, from 
the steeple tops. They did not hang their heads in shame.
  Listen. Listen. Listen to what John Adams said. He served as Vice 
President for 8 years under George Washington. He was a member of the 
Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence. In an 
entry in his diary on February 22, 1756, John Adams wrote:

       Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the 
     Bible for their only lawbook and every member should regulate 
     his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. Every member 
     would be obliged in conscience to temperance, frugality, and 
     industry; to justice, kindness, and charity toward his fellow 
     men; and to piety, love and reverence toward almighty God. . 
     . . What a Utopia, what a paradise would this region be.

  John Adams believed that the Bible could be our only lawbook--think 
of that. What a small but mighty tome.
  What about Benjamin Franklin? Was he afraid to discuss religion for 
fear of offending sensibilities? No, heavens no. When the Congress 
established a three-man committee, of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and 
Ben Franklin, to design a great seal of the United States, it was 
Franklin who suggested that the seal be one of Moses lifting his wand, 
dividing the Red Sea, with pharaoh in his chariot, overwhelmed by 
water. His suggested motto was, ``Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to 
God.''
  Thomas Jefferson similarly suggested a Biblical theme, highlighting 
the children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a 
pillar of fire by night. These are vivid religious images that our 
Founding Fathers proposed be adopted as enduring symbols of our 
representative form of government.
  The Founders did not view these proposals as repugnant religiosity, 
something to be kept under wraps for fear of offending the popular 
culture. They were creating the culture.
  I have long been opposed to what I call the censorship of religion in 
America. I have said it before. I say it again. I don't agree with many 
of the decisions that have come down from the courts concerning prayer 
in the public schools or prohibiting the display of religious items in 
public places. I believe in ruling after ruling some of our courts, led 
by the Supreme Court, have been moving closer and closer to prohibiting 
the free exercise of religion in America, and it chills my soul. 
Americans don't want religious censorship--

[[Page S3720]]

no. Ours is a religious nation. It may not seem so but it is. We are a 
religious people. We may not seem so at times, not all of us, but we 
embrace religion as a people. We draw it close, close to us. We drape 
it over us, we draw it around us, we envelope our families in its 
protective shield. We will not shun it. We will not deny it. We will 
not run from it. We must be free to exercise our religious faith, if we 
have a religious faith, whatever it may be.
  The religion clauses of the first amendment state:

       Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
     religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . .

  In my humble opinion, too many have not given equal weight to both of 
these clauses. Instead, they seem to have focused only on the first 
clause which says ``Congress shall make no law respecting an 
establishment of religion,'' at the expense of the second clause, which 
says, ``or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.''
  Yes, that protects the right of Americans to worship as they please. 
I have always believed that this country was founded by men and women 
of strong faith whose intent was not to suppress religion but to ensure 
that the government favors no single religion over another. This 
principle makes a lot of sense to me; namely, that government itself 
should seek neither to discourage nor to promote religion. We can 
understand the outrage of many fine people of faith who today decry the 
nature of our public discourse, with its overt emphasis on sex, 
violence, profanity, and materialism.
  In addition, we live today with the omnipresent fear of another 
terrorist attack, global warming, avian flu, rising fuel and health 
care costs, and a whole panoply of other potential calamities over 
which we seem to have little or no control. Our Nation has every reason 
to seek comfort through prayer.
  Nearly 44 years ago, on June 27, 1962--I was here. I was sitting over 
on that side of the Chamber, to my left, in the back row. Forty-four 
years ago, on June 27, 1962, 2 days after the U.S. Supreme Court first 
struck down prayer in schools, I made the following statement on the 
Senate floor. I said it then. I say it today.

       Thomas Jefferson expressed the will of the American 
     majority in 1776 when he included in the Declaration of 
     Independence the statement, ``All men''--

Meaning, of course, women, too--

     ``All men are endowed by their Creator with certain 
     unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and 
     the pursuit of happiness.''

  Little could Mr. Jefferson suspect when he penned that line that the 
time would come that the Nation's highest Court might rule that a 
nondenominational prayer to the Creator of us all, if offered by 
schoolchildren in the public schools of America during class periods, 
would be unconstitutional. I believe this ingrained predisposition 
against expressions of religious or spiritual beliefs is wrongheaded, 
destructive, and completely contrary to the intent of the illustrious 
Founders of this great Nation. Instead of ensuring freedom of religion 
in a nation founded in part to guarantee that basic liberty, a 
suffocation or strangulation, if you might, of that freedom has been 
the result. The rights of those who do not believe, and they are few in 
number who do not believe--the rights of those who do not believe in a 
Supreme Being have been zealously guarded to the denigration--and I 
repeat, denigration--of the rights of those people who do so believe.
  The Supreme Court has bent over backward to prevent the government 
from establishing religion--which is all right--but it has not gone far 
enough and, in fact, our government has fallen far short of protecting 
the right of all Americans to exercise their religion.
  The free exercise clause of the first amendment states:

       Congress cannot make laws that prohibit the free exercise 
     of religion.

  Well, it seems to me that any prohibition of voluntary prayer in the 
public schools violates the right of our schoolchildren to practice 
their free religion, and that is not right. Any child should be free to 
pray to God of his or her own volition, whether at home, whether at 
church, whether at school, period.
  I am not a proponent of repeatedly amending the U.S. Constitution. I 
believe such amendments should be done only rarely and with great care. 
However, because I feel as strongly about this today as I have for more 
than 40 years, I take this opportunity, once again, as I have at least 
7 times over the past 44 years, to introduce today a joint resolution 
to amend the Constitution to clarify the intent of the Framers with 
respect to voluntary prayer in schools.
  Our revered Constitution--this sacred document--was conceived by the 
Framers neither to prohibit nor to require the recitation of voluntary 
prayer in public schools. Consequently, the exact language of the 
resolution that I am introducing to amend the Constitution simply makes 
that clear.
  It states--get this:

       Nothing in this Constitution, including any amendments to 
     this Constitution, shall be construed to prohibit voluntary 
     prayer or require prayer at a public school extracurricular 
     activity.

  This resolution is similar to legislation that I introduced or 
cosponsored starting in 1962 but more recently in 1973, 1979, 1982, 
1993, 1995, and 1997.
  I believe Members of the Supreme Court have placed exaggerated 
emphasis on the Framers' alleged intent to erect an absolute ``wall of 
separation'' between church and state. I do not share that view.
  I believe the right of every schoolchild to pray or not to pray 
voluntarily, if he or she chooses to do so, is protected by both the 
free speech and the free exercise clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
  Even the Supreme Court in the case of Lynch v. Donnelly, in 1984, 
agreed that the Constitution does not require the complete separation 
of church and state. Instead, it mandates an accommodation of all 
religions and forbids hostility toward any.
  Let me be clear that what we are talking about is not a radical 
departure. It is simply a reiteration of what should already be 
permissible under a correct interpretation of the first amendment.
  My resolution does not change the language of the first amendment, 
and it would not permit any school to advocate a particular religious 
message endorsed by the government. My resolution would simply 
reiterate the Framers' intent that a child should be able to utter a 
voluntary prayer. There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about 
that.
  This resolution seeks neither to advance nor to inhibit religion. It 
does not signify government approval of any particular religious sect 
or creed. It does not compel a ``nonbeliever'' to pray. In fact, it 
does not require an atheist to embrace or to adopt any religious 
action, belief, or expression. It does not coerce or compel anyone to 
do anything. And it does not foster any excessive government 
entanglement with religion.
  This constitutional amendment is neutral. It is nondiscriminatory. It 
does not endorse state-sponsored school prayer. It simply allows 
children to pray voluntarily, if they wish to do so. It permits 
children to express themselves on the subject of prayer just as anyone 
is free to express themselves on any other topic.
  As Justice Scalia recently held: ``A priest has as much liberty to 
proselytize as a patriot.''
  The Supreme Court has held that the establishment clause is not 
violated so long as the government treats religious speech and other 
speech equally.
  This resolution has a valid secular purpose, which is to ensure that 
religious and nonreligious speech are treated equally, and this secular 
purpose is preeminent. This purpose is not secondary to any religious 
objective.
  In one of the more recent cases on the subject, the Supreme Court, in 
Santa Fe v. Jane Doe, reiterated that the religious clauses of the 
first amendment prevent the government from ``making any law respecting 
the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof.'' But by ``no means,'' the Court held, ``do these commands 
impose a prohibition on all religious activity in our public schools.''
  ``Indeed,'' the Court ruled, ``the common purpose of the Religious 
Clauses is to secure religious liberty.''
  Thus, Justice Stevens wrote:

       Nothing in the Constitution as interpreted by this Court 
     prohibits any public school student from unvoluntarily 
     praying at any time before, during or after the school day.

  He went on to declare, though, that ``the religious liberty protected 
by this

[[Page S3721]]

Constitution is abridged when the state affirmatively sponsors a 
particular religious practice or prayer.''

  So let me reiterate that the resolution I am introducing today 
addresses only voluntary student prayer--not state-sponsored speech.
  In one of her final rulings on this subject, Justice O'Connor held 
that the first amendment expresses our Nation's fundamental commitment 
to religious liberty by means of two provisions--one protecting the 
free exercise of religion, the other barring the establishment of 
religion.
  ``They were written,'' she said, ``by the descendants of people who 
had come to this land precisely so that they could practice their 
religion freely.'' And, ``by enforcing these two clauses,'' she said, 
``we have kept religion a matter for the individual conscience, not for 
the prosecutor or the bureaucrat.''
  We should keep it that way. We should keep it that way. We should 
keep religion a matter for the individual conscience. But does keeping 
religion a matter for the individual conscience mean that a schoolchild 
must stand silent, unable to turn to God for comfort or guidance in 
times of trial or heartache? No. No. No. Not even our Supreme Court has 
recognized that. Not every reference to God constitutes the 
impermissible establishment of religion.
  Where would we be without recourse to prayer?
  As we know, even the mighty King David sought guidance from above. In 
Psalm, 17, he implores:

       Hear, O Lord, a just suit; attend to my outcry; harken to 
     my prayer from lips without deceit . . . I call upon You for 
     You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my 
     word . . . keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the 
     shadows of Your wings.

  In our Nation's Capitol, just off the Rotunda, there is a small room 
called the Prayer Room. I was there when it was first dedicated. A 
small room called the Prayer Room was set aside in 1954 by the 83rd 
Congress to be used for private prayer and contemplation by Members of 
Congress. The room is open.
  Have you ever been there? If you haven't, you ought to go to see that 
Prayer Room. I go to it still from time to time.
  The room is open when Congress is in session though not open to the 
public. The room's focal point is a stained glass window that shows 
George Washington kneeling in prayer. Behind him are etched these words 
from Psalm 16:1: ``Preserve me, o God, for in thee do I put my trust.''
  What right do we have to take from schoolchildren their right to pray 
a voluntary prayer when we preserve, protect, and defend and even 
create a seperate room to enshrine that same right to ourselves here in 
the Senate?
  St. Luke, the apostle, tells us that such efforts are as much in our 
own interest as they are in the best interests of a child. Here is what 
St. Luke tells us:

       Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock 
     and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives; 
     whoever seeks, finds; whoever knocks is admitted. What father 
     among you will give his son a snake if he asks for a fish, or 
     hand him a scorpion if he asks for an egg? If you, with all 
     your sins, know how to give your children good things, how 
     much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to 
     those who ask him?

  We must work to be certain that the free exercise clause remains as 
applicable and respected today as it was at the time it was conceived 
by the Framers.
  We must guard its protection so that all Americans, including, yes, 
children, little children--suffer little children--retain their right 
freely to practice their religion. Let us make certain that every 
individual, including any child nestled in the West Virginia hills or 
anywhere else in America, can pray to God as they please.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the joint resolution was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 35

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of 
     each House concurring therein), That the following article is 
     proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as 
     part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of 
     three-fourths of the several States within seven years after 
     the date of its submission by the Congress:

                              ``Article --

       ``Nothing in this Constitution, including any amendment to 
     this Constitution, shall be construed to prohibit voluntary 
     prayer or require prayer in a public school, or to prohibit 
     voluntary prayer or require prayer at a public school 
     extracurricular activity.''.

                          ____________________