[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S188-S189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
______
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 32--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 232ND
ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM
Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Risch, Mr.
Blunt, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Lee, Mr. Boozman, Mr.
Tillis, and Mrs. Ernst) submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. Con. Res. 32
Whereas the democracy of the United States is rooted in the
fundamental truth
[[Page S189]]
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 colonies in the United States;
(2) the founders of the United States; and
(3) Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in a 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 society and public life in
the United States has a long and robust tradition;
Whereas individuals who have studied the democracy of the
United States from an international perspective, such as
Alexis de Tocqueville, have noted that religion plays a
central role in preserving the Government of the United
States because religion provides the moral base required for
democracy to succeed;
Whereas, in Town of Greece v. Galloway, 134 S. Ct. 1811
(2014), the Supreme Court of the United States 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 a 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 a 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 freely express and act on
the religious beliefs of those individuals; and
(2) individuals from coercion to profess or act on a
religious belief to which those individuals 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
the United States in 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 the homes, houses of worship, or doctrinal creeds
of those individuals;
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 a 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 Constitution of the United States 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 a 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 a
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, 2018, honors
the 232nd 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 a Presidential proclamation on Religious
Freedom Day in 2012.
____________________