[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9135]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICAN RELIGIOUS HERITAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the long American legacy 
of religious freedom and religious expression that we have inherited as 
a result of the wise foresight of our Nation's founders.
  Throughout our history, we've been a Nation eager to rally to the cry 
of the motto, ``In God We Trust,'' in times of peace and prosperity or 
in war and upheaval. This phrase, etched not only on our coins and here 
in this Chamber but also on our hearts, has captured a truly American 
sentiment that our great historic experiment in democracy was founded 
on, and today, thrives in a robust sense of religious freedom.
  Religious freedoms were specifically included in our Constitution as 
a reflection of the colonial experience of religious tolerance and free 
expression. Yet as religions' detractors would have it, the 
Constitution's enumeration of American religious freedoms is a paltry 
clause intended to merely protect us from the forced religion of a 
repressed central government.
  This is a far cry from our Founders' full intentions. America's 
Founders were indeed careful to ensure that the government did not 
establish an official religion, but while they were at it, they crafted 
protection that would ensure our natural religious life would not 
falter under the machinations of those who would infringe on citizens' 
religious expression.
  The first amendment is clear: Congress shall make no law respecting 
an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. 
This amendment does not establish the freedom from religion. Rather, it 
grants every American freedom of religion.

                              {time}  2000

  It is upon this freedom that our land was founded, and it is this 
freedom that undergirds our strength and national character today.
  As founding father John Adams wrote in 1776 on the eve of our 
independence, ``Statesmen . . . may plan and speculate for Liberty, but 
it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles, 
upon which Freedom can securely stand end.''
  By allowing for and encouraging the free exercise of religion, the 
Constitution set the stage for a vigorous national religious life. Most 
Americans are nothing if not a people of religion, committed to lives 
of quiet reverence to God, the practice of prayer and the exercise of 
their religion.
  Our culture of religious life informs the way we raise families, 
conduct business and serve our neighbors. Throughout the centuries this 
culture also illuminated those who governed and served to temper our 
laws and governmental practices with the timely wisdom of Judeo-
Christian ethics.
  George Washington recognized that America would succeed if she 
adhered to the long legacy of religious values informing our public 
life and policy. In his first inaugural address, he said that ``the 
foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and 
immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free 
government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the 
affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world.''
  George Washington knew what we know today. A healthy culture of free 
religious expression keeps our Nation on the right track and our 
government's policies rooted in the values that we hold dear: life, 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My continual prayer for America 
is that we never forsake the Judeo-Christian values that ensure these 
freedoms remain a centerpiece of our great Nation.

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