[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S344-S345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 5--AFFIRMING THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS 
   FREEDOM AS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO A FREE 
  SOCIETY AND PROTECTED FOR ALL PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE 
     CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND RECOGNIZING THE 231ST 
  ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS 
                                FREEDOM

  Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Lankford, Mr. 
Inhofe, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Risch, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
Sasse, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Crapo) submitted the following concurrent 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                             S. Con. Res. 5

       Whereas United States democracy is rooted in the 
     fundamental truth that all people are created equal, endowed 
     by the Creator with certain inalienable rights, including 
     life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
       Whereas the freedom of conscience was highly valued by--
       (1) individuals seeking religious freedom who settled in 
     the American colonies;
       (2) the founders of the United States; and
       (3) Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in his letter to the 
     Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church at New London, 
     Connecticut, dated February 4, 1809, that ``[n]o provision in 
     our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which 
     protects the rights of conscience against the enterprizes of 
     the civil authority'';
       Whereas the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was--
       (1) drafted by Thomas Jefferson, who considered the 
     Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom to be one of his 
     greatest achievements;
       (2) enacted on January 16, 1786; and
       (3) the forerunner to the Free Exercise Clause of the First 
     Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
       Whereas section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom 
     Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)) states that--
       (1) ``[t]he right to freedom of religion undergirds the 
     very origin and existence of the United States''; and
       (2) religious freedom was established by the founders of 
     the United States ``in law, as a fundamental right and as a 
     pillar of our Nation'';
       Whereas the role of religion in United States society and 
     public life has a long and robust tradition;
       Whereas individuals who have studied United States 
     democracy from an international perspective, such as Alexis 
     de Tocqueville, have noted that religion plays a central role 
     in preserving the United States Government because religion 
     provides the moral base required for democracy to succeed;
       Whereas, in Town of Greece v. Galloway, 134 S. Ct. 1811 
     (2014), the United States Supreme Court affirmed that 
     ``people of many faiths may be united in a community of 
     tolerance and devotion'';
       Whereas the principle of religious freedom ``has guided our 
     Nation forward'', as expressed by the 44th President of the 
     United States in his Presidential proclamation on Religious 
     Freedom Day in 2011, and freedom of religion ``is a universal 
     human right to be protected here at home and across the 
     globe'', as expressed by that President of the United States 
     on Religious Freedom Day in 2013;
       Whereas ``[f]reedom of religion is a fundamental human 
     right that must be upheld by every nation and guaranteed by 
     every government'', as expressed by the 42nd President of the 
     United States in his Presidential proclamation on Religious 
     Freedom Day in 1999;
       Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States protects--
       (1) the right of individuals to express freely and act on 
     their religious beliefs; and
       (2) individuals from coercion to profess or act on a 
     religious belief to which they do not adhere;
       Whereas ``our laws and institutions should not impede or 
     hinder but rather should protect and preserve fundamental 
     religious liberties'', as expressed by the 42nd President of

[[Page S345]]

     the United States in his remarks accompanying the signing of 
     the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 
     2000bb et seq.);
       Whereas for countless people of the United States, faith is 
     an integral part of every aspect of daily life and is not 
     limited to their homes, houses of worship, or doctrinal 
     creeds;
       Whereas ``religious faith has inspired many of our fellow 
     citizens to help build a better Nation'' in which ``people of 
     faith continue to wage a determined campaign to meet needs 
     and fight suffering'', as expressed by the 43rd President of 
     the United States in his Presidential proclamation on 
     Religious Freedom Day in 2003;
       Whereas ``from its birth to this day, the United States has 
     prized this legacy of religious freedom and honored this 
     heritage by standing for religious freedom and offering 
     refuge to those suffering religious persecution'', as noted 
     in section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 
     1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a));
       Whereas Thomas Jefferson wrote--
       (1) in 1798 that each right encompassed in the First 
     Amendment to the United States Constitution is dependent on 
     the other rights described in that Amendment, ``thereby 
     guarding in the same sentence, and under the same words, the 
     freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press: insomuch, 
     that whatever violated either, throws down the sanctuary 
     which covers the others''; and
       (2) in 1822 that the constitutional freedom of religion is 
     ``the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights'';
       Whereas religious freedom ``has been integral to the 
     preservation and development of the United States'', and 
     ``the free exercise of religion goes hand in hand with the 
     preservation of our other rights'', as expressed by the 41st 
     President of the United States in his Presidential 
     proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 1993; and
       Whereas we ``continue to proclaim the fundamental right of 
     all peoples to believe and worship according to their own 
     conscience, to affirm their beliefs openly and freely, and to 
     practice their faith without fear or intimidation'', as 
     expressed by the 42nd President of the United States in his 
     Presidential proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 1998: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) on Religious Freedom Day on January 16, 2017, honors 
     the 231st anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia 
     Statute for Religious Freedom; and
       (2) affirms that--
       (A) for individuals of any faith and individuals of no 
     faith, religious freedom includes the right of an individual 
     to live, work, associate, and worship in accordance with the 
     beliefs of the individual;
       (B) all people of the United States can be unified in 
     supporting religious freedom, regardless of differing 
     individual beliefs, because religious freedom is a 
     fundamental human right; and
       (C) ``the American people will remain forever unshackled in 
     matters of faith'', as expressed by the 44th President of the 
     United States in his Presidential proclamation on Religious 
     Freedom Day in 2012.

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