[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 68 (Thursday, April 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2868-S2869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                              FAITH MONTH

 Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, Americans across the country, 
led by Concerned Women for America, CWA--the Nation's largest public 
policy organization for women--and other faith-based organizations will 
again celebrate April as Faith Month. I commend this noble effort 
calling on all people of faith to join in prayer, to give thanks, and 
to celebrate their faith.

[[Page S2869]]

  Faith is at the very core of who we are as Americans. Every nation 
before us was based on either a shared ethnicity, a common language, or 
a unifying monarch. But the United States of America was the first 
nation in history founded on the belief that every human being has 
inherent value and natural rights granted to them not by any earthly 
government, but by an all-powerful God. In the words of our 
Declaration, we are ``endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable 
Rights,'' based on ``the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God,'' 
acknowledging our ``reliance on the protection of divine Providence.''
  Many of our Nation's earliest settlers were people of faith, seeking 
a land in which they could freely practice their beliefs. The Puritans 
of New England, the Pennsylvania Quakers, and the Catholic founders of 
the Maryland Colony were all men and women who came to these shores in 
search of a haven for religious freedom. The Founding Fathers after 
them carried on that faithful torch by enshrining that freedom of 
religion in the very First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well 
as ``the free exercise thereof.'' They knew that a nation founded on 
the belief in a higher power must encourage a faithful population.
  When religious freedom is protected, communities thrive. Ample 
research shows that faith strengthens the family unit, promotes stable 
marriages, and discourages drug abuse and violence. Regular church 
attendance is linked to lifting young people in inner cities out of 
poverty, and faithful people tend to be happier and more satisfied in 
life.
  The role of religious organizations in America is invaluable. An 
estimated 350,000 religious congregations operate schools, pregnancy 
resource centers, soup kitchens, drug addiction programs, homeless 
shelters, and adoption agencies throughout the Nation, with more than 
2,600 of them in my state of Mississippi alone. These organizations 
selflessly care for their communities and deserve to be celebrated and 
uplifted for the work that they do.
  Today, it is distressing that attacks against particular faith 
communities have become all too common. Individuals and charities alike 
have been forced to compromise their sincerely held beliefs to keep 
their jobs or participate in certain government programs. Worse, some 
Federal Agencies are promoting policies and regulations that make it 
harder for faith-based charities and social service organizations to 
care for the need.
  It is a sad fact that, today, too many people of faith feel unsafe on 
their college campuses, in their workplaces, or where they worship as 
attacks against their communities rise. No religious American should be 
afraid to openly practice their faith in the land of the free. It is 
imperative that the American Government clearly state that such 
discriminatory actions and hateful attacks are intolerable and that 
they must be met with speech that unwaveringly speaks the truth and 
calls out evil for what it is. Attacks against faith, against the 
freedom of conscience, undermine the very foundation of America.
  In a 2023 Gallup Poll, nearly three out of four Americans said they 
practice some kind of religious faith. This rich, diverse religious 
heritage is to our credit and should be encouraged. This Faith Month, I 
join millions of Americans in honoring the right to worship freely and 
openly, with public displays and celebrations, unashamed to share in 
our common American heritage as a people of faith. In this manner, we 
reaffirm our commitment to the religious liberty principles of our 
founding.

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