[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12649-12656]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       OUR RICH HISTORY OF FAITH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, tonight is a rather historic night because 
as people might be watching this at home, or if they happen to still be 
in this great, historic Chamber, if you look around, this room is 
draped with history. Unfortunately, when people look at this great 
assembly hall in which so many great debates and great pieces of 
legislation have passed, what they have become accustomed to seeing is 
if you are on this side of the aisle whenever there is anything that 
goes wrongs, there are fingers pointed on that side of the aisle in 
trying to blame everyone sitting over here. Of course the folks on that 
side of the aisle are turning over here and pointing their fingers in 
this direction. If anything good takes place, the folks on this side of 
the aisle want to stand up and take credit for those things that are 
good, and folks on that side of the aisle want to do the same thing. 
And folks sitting at home begin to question and ask whether we can ever 
get anything done, whether we can ever come together as a body. Well 
tonight, that is what we do. Republicans and Democrats come together to 
talk about something that is the cornerstone of the American 
experience, and that is the rich history of faith that we have had in 
this country that has helped create our greatness, helped sustain us 
and that many of us who will speak here tonight for this next hour 
believe will continue to sustain us in years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, right behind you tonight is a great phrase. It says ``In 
God We Trust.'' As you stare out all around this magnificent room, you 
see some of the greatest lawgivers history and the world has ever 
known. But the ones you see across this room, you see just half of 
their face, their half profile except the one directly in front of you 
which is Moses who we recognize as perhaps one of the greatest 
lawgivers of all.
  And throughout our country we have been steeped in an enormous 
history of faith that starts all of the way back with the commission 
that Christopher Columbus had when they talked about the grace of God; 
the first colonial grant to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, the grace of 
God was mentioned in there. The first charter of Virginia in 1606, it 
referenced knowledge and worship of God. The Mayflower Compact in 1620, 
it talked about having undertaken for the glory of God. The Declaration 
of Independence we all know and can cite that those inalienable rights 
were endowed to us by what the writers of that document said were their 
creator.
  The first act of Congress, 1774, they asked a minister to open with 
prayer, and they read four chapters of the Bible. And during the Civil 
War we are told that soldiers on both sides, Union and Confederates, 
that religion was the greatest sustainer of morale.
  Of course we know numerous stories of the great faith of men and 
women as they were in slavery and fought to get out of that horrible 
institution.
  In 1815, over 2,000 official government calls to prayer had been made 
by States in the Federal Government, and thousands more have been made 
since then.
  In 1864 Congress added ``In God We Trust'' to the American coinage.
  In 1870, the Federal Government made Christmas an official holiday.
  In 1931, the Star Spangled Banner was our national anthem, including 
the phrase ``in God is our trust.''
  In 1954 we added the phrase ``one Nation under God'' to the Pledge of 
Allegiance.
  And in 1956, Congress by law made ``In God We Trust'' our national 
motto. And, of course, we all know the significant role that faith and 
religion and the church played in the civil rights movement.
  Tonight, Mr. Speaker, for the next hour you will hear some of the 
greatest leaders in our country and certainly in this body who will 
come forth not as Republicans and not as Democrats, but come forth as 
Americans to talk about what we think is the core value system that we 
have been proud of in this Nation, and that is the rich history of 
faith that we have.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to my good friend, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre).
  Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Randy Forbes for his great work in 
helping us put this event together tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 888 which affirms the rich 
spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent 
history and designates the first week of May each year as American 
Religious History Week for the appreciation of and education on 
America's history of religious faith.
  As we join together on the floor of the U.S. House and stand beneath 
these words ``In God We Trust,'' while recognizing the importance of a 
religious history week, let us remember the words of our Founding 
Fathers.
  ``We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.''
  So begins our Constitution with those words of the Preamble.
  But let us turn back the hands of time for a moment. The day is 
September 17, 1787. The time is 4 p.m. Thirty-nine men from across the 
United States look at another one with solemn but joyous faces. The 
arguments are over; the prayers have been answered; and the miracle has 
occurred: the Constitution of the United States has just been signed. 
From May 25 until now, for four long hot months, these men have toiled, 
not knowing whether their

[[Page 12650]]

work was one of wisdom or folly. They have their hopes and their 
doubts. And they wondered whether it would succeed or fail to sustain 
this infant country.
  The oldest delegate, Ben Franklin, rises from his chair. At age 81, 
he has seen this young Nation flounder already under 4 years of 
indecisive government that divided rather than united. He looks around 
the room at the men, many of whom were in their 20s and 30s. And he 
stares once more at the chair occupied by George Washington at the head 
of the assembly. He had speculated what the half-sun painted on the 
chair signified. And he said then, ``I have often in the course of this 
session looked at that behind the President without being able to tell 
whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the 
happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.''
  Indeed, the miracle of Philadelphia had occurred. The United States 
was a rising and not a setting one, a Nation whose rays of influence, 
as we know, would one day be felt the world over.
  But when we think about why this miracle occurred, when we look back 
221 years later, do we know what happened in that hall before those 39 
men came out and announced that they had, instead of rewriting the 
Articles of Confederation had written a new constitution for our 
country. They had deliberated, they had argued and debated. They had 
made sure that everyone's opinion was heard. Secondly, they showed 
their dedication in addition to their deliberation. That meant that 
they had put in sweat and long hours trying to find out what would 
benefit us all. But in addition to that deliberation and dedication, 
they also showed their devotion.

                              {time}  2045

  They knew that their reliance must not be just upon themselves, but 
first and foremost, upon God.
  And as Franklin himself, who was not known as one of the most 
religious founding fathers, but himself acknowledged God's providence 
upon that group that met to write our Constitution, said, himself, as 
he looked at Washington, before they went out and announced in what is 
today known as Independence Hall in Philadelphia, he said, ``I have 
lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing 
proof I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And 
if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it likely 
that an empire shall rise without his aid?''
  ``We have been assured,'' said Franklin, ``in the sacred writings 
that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. 
I firmly believe this,'' said Franklin, ``and I also believe that 
without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building 
no better than the builders of Babel.''
  What a challenge to us today. What a challenge that that old man, at 
that time, Franklin, made to all of those young men who were ready to 
go out and announce what they'd done politically for a new country. But 
he himself said ``we can only secure these blessings of liberty for 
ourselves and posterity when we take time too first pray and rely upon 
the hand of Almighty God.'' And that those 39 men did. Before they 
walked out of what is today known as Independence Hall to announce that 
we had a constitution for this new country, they spent time in prayer.
  You know, that story has been sanitized out of our history books 
today, but those are Franklin's quotes. And I think it's a challenge to 
all of us to know that even this man knew scripture and knew that the 
hand of Almighty God had to be upon our country for us to succeed.
  We, the people is how the Constitution begins. Will we let the 
miracle endure? Will we remember what John Adams, our second president, 
said when our constitution was made? ``Only for a moral and religious 
people, it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.''
  Mr. Speaker, I challenge us tonight, as we share this time together, 
I thank Mr. Forbes for giving me this opportunity to share this 
occasion with him and all of my colleagues who will soon follow, that 
we support H. Res. 888 as American Religious History Week so that we, 
as a country, will never forget the very words and actions of our 
founding fathers, who we are as a Nation, how deep our religious roots 
run, and remind us of the historical significance that is well 
documented, of faith and prayer, that we celebrate America's religious 
heritage, that we remember that we have opportunities in this great 
land that God has blessed us with, and may we always honor those 
opportunities in our reliance upon divine providence.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, we just appreciate the leadership of 
Congressman McIntyre on all of these issues of faith. Mike, thank you 
so much.
  And I'd like to now recognize another great leader on faith issues 
across the country from the State of Arkansas, Congressman John 
Boozman.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to support American 
Religious History Week. This great country was founded on religious 
principles, and the ideal of our founders can be seen in the halls of 
this very building, the symbol of American democracy, the Capitol.
  Statuary Hall, the former meeting place of the House of 
Representatives, now home to statues donated by individual States, was 
the site of church services for over 50 years, and the Speaker's podium 
was used as the preacher's pulpit during that time.
  Several of the statues in that great hall are of religious figures 
important to the growth of this great nation.
  John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was persuaded by his 
father to study the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England. 
From there God called him into the life of politics; serving in the 
House of Burgesses and becoming a commander in the Continental Army 
during the revolution. Then he was elected to the first Congress and 
also served as a senator.
  Like so many of the other religious figures in these halls, these men 
have made significant contributions. Men like Roger Williams, a priest 
in the Church of England, founded the colony of Rhode Island and wrote 
the declaration of the principle of religious liberty.
  Thomas Starr King, a Unitarian minister, was a fiery orator who spoke 
favorably of the Union in California in the 1860s, and is credited with 
saving California from becoming a separate republic.
  Father Damien's statue is one of the most recognizable. He was an 
ordained priest in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, 
Hawaii in the mid 1860s. He risked his health ministering to lepers, 
building chapels and comforting the sick before leprosy took his own 
life.
  The accomplishments of these religious men honored in Statuary Hall 
are felt coast to coast. Now, hundreds of years later, religion is 
still important, and I'm committed to continuing the efforts started by 
these great men.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the congressman from Arkansas for 
his great leadership on this; and now recognize another leader from the 
State of New Mexico, Congressman Steve Pearce.
  Mr. PEARCE. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Forbes for 
your leadership in this call to establish American Religious History 
Week.
  Also, as a cosponsor of H. Res. 888, I'm strongly supportive of the 
idea that we should remember that we should always acknowledge the 
founding fathers' belief that this Nation was indeed blessed by our 
Maker, that we would, as a Nation, acknowledge our corporate belief.
  It's important to remember not only our founding, but also to take a 
look at where we're headed as a Nation. We acknowledge that our Nation 
was founded on the right to choose to believe or not believe, but also 
our founding fathers gave us choices in exactly how to express our 
faith.
  I believe that acknowledging America's rich spiritual and religious 
history is important and it is a great step towards accomplishing what 
would be the future of this country, America's religious heritage.
  It troubles me that we are beginning to see shifts in this country. 
We're seeing shifts, not in ideology, not in philosophy, but over 
whether we can even

[[Page 12651]]

declare our faith publicly. In this country we're beginning to hear 
people say that if you declare faith publicly, you're infringing on 
their rights. I simply do not agree or believe in that.
  If you want to acknowledge your faith, there are people who say that 
it should be behind closed doors. This is sad. Often this mind-set is 
originating right here in Washington. This mind-set is originating in 
this institution, but it's also originating even in institutions where 
the members are not elected, and I think those are critical things for 
us to look at as we consider where this Nation is headed.
  This Nation has a motto ``In God We Trust.'' It was approved by 
Congress, and yet it's being circumvented sometimes by unelected 
officials. ``In God We Trust'' is printed on coins, on our currency. It 
is engraved on our buildings. It appears over the entrance to the 
Senate Chambers, and you can see the phrase engraved in this Chamber on 
the wall above the Speaker's dais. This phrase is woven into the fabric 
of our Nation, but we're beginning to see an unraveling of the phrase, 
an unraveling of this tradition of declaring that we do trust in God. 
This is a string that should not be cut.
  In 2006, the U.S. Mint announced plans to move the inscription ``In 
God We Trust'' from the face of the Presidential Dollar coin pieces to 
the thin edge around the dollar coin.
  In February of 2006 the Treasury announced that in an accidental 
omission an unknown number of Presidential coins had made it past 
inspectors and were sent into circulation without the words ``In God We 
Trust'' at all. Some estimates are as many as 50,000 of these coins are 
in circulation.
  I understand that mistakes happen, but sending 50,000 coins without 
the basic motto which this institution declared should be on our 
currency is a major mistake. I ask for the U.S. Mint to give a full 
report and accounting of the situation.
  Our history tells us the importance of God and faith in the birth of 
our Nation. The problems with the phrase, ``In God We Trust'' being 
omitted from our coin is just one indicator of how badly we're drifting 
off course. It is fitting that we honor the spiritual history with a 
week dedicated to remembering our founding and ensuring that the 
lasting connection which so many Americans share in and believe in is a 
part of our national fabric.
  I support H. Res. 888, and agree that we should, indeed, establish a 
week which declares American religious history. And I thank Mr. Forbes 
for yielding time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, we thank the gentleman from New Mexico. And 
now another great leader in the Congress of the United States from the 
State of Maryland, Mr. Roscoe Bartlett.
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Thank you very much, Randy, for organizing 
this special order this evening.
  Most of the founders of our country were deeply religious. You 
wouldn't know that by reading our textbooks. They have been bled dry of 
any meaningful reference to how religious our founders were.
  One of those founders was Patrick Henry. And his words, some of his 
words may be in our textbook, ``Give me liberty or give me death.'' But 
I will bet you the textbook will not include the context of this.
  This was said on March 23, 1775, at St. John's Church in Richmond, 
Virginia; and this is what he said. ``An appeal to arms and the God of 
hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. 
There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The 
battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so 
sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it 
Almighty God. I know not what course others may take but, as for me, 
give me liberty, or give me death.''
  Alexis de Tocqueville, the young Frenchman, toured this country in 
1831, and this is what he said. ``I sought for the key to the greatness 
and genius of America in her great harbors, her fertile fields and 
boundless forests, in her rich mines and vast world commerce, in her 
universal public school system and institutions of learning. I sought 
for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless constitution.
  ``But not until I went into the churches of America and heard her 
pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her 
genius and power. America is great because America is good. And if 
America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.''
  In 1863 Abraham Lincoln declared a National Day of Humiliation, and I 
really love his words. He was not supposed to be a really religious 
man, but listen to what he said. ``We have been the recipients of the 
choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in 
peace and prosperity where we have grown in numbers and wealth and 
power as no other Nation has ever grown.
  ``But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand 
which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched us, and we have 
vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these 
blesses were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
  ``Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-
sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too 
proud to pray to the God that the God that made us! It behooves us then 
to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national 
sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.''
  Abraham Lincoln understood that this was an experiment. In his 
Gettysburg address he said ``Four score and seven years ago, our 
forefathers brought forth on this continent a new Nation, conceived in 
liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created 
equal.''
  We're now engaged in a great civil war testing where that Nation or 
any Nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. Mr. Lincoln, 
this has been a very successful experiment. But I think the words of 
Alexis de Tocqueville are true, that America will continue to be great 
so long as America continues to be good.
  And Mr. Forbes, it will be very difficult for America to continue to 
be good if we forget how much we depend on God. Thank you for yielding 
to me, sir.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, Mr. Bartlett, for those great words.
  And now another leader on so many of these issues from the State of 
North Carolina, Congressman Robin Hayes.
  Mr. HAYES. Thank you Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank my dear friend 
and colleague, Randy Forbes, and all the other Members who are gathered 
here tonight in support of House Resolution 888.
  I rise today to speak in support of this resolution that honors the 
religious foundation of this country and designates the first week in 
May as American Religious Heritage Week.

                              {time}  2100

  From the devout convictions of the Continental Army to the current 
steadfast faith of our men and women fighting the war on terrorism, 
faith and religion have played a significant role in America's history, 
especially in times of conflict.
  Military chaplains have a long history in serving the religious needs 
of the Armed Forces. There's a list of chaplains in the U.S. military 
that goes back to George Washington, who first sought to minister for 
his Virginia regiment in 1756. Washington placed the success and 
survival of his Continental Army on the power of faith and prayer.
  His most famous acclamation was his prayer at Valley Forge. He said, 
``Bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled 
with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son Jesus. Of all dispositions and 
habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are 
indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of 
patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human 
happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.
  ``To the distinguished character of a Patriot, it should be our 
highest glory to add the more distinguished character of a Christian.''

[[Page 12652]]

  Today, military chaplains are found in every part of the military 
from army medical centers, veterans' clinics, official ceremonies, as 
well as combat zones. Now more than ever our soldiers, veterans, and 
their families need spiritual leadership and guidance; yet in some 
places, chaplains and their religious convictions are coming under 
fire. In several instances across the country, military chaplains have 
been marginalized for their reference to God and the Bible in religious 
ceremony.
  Tonight, as we honor the religious foundation of America and commend 
the role of military chaplains, I hope that we can continue in the 
steps of our Founding Fathers by upholding the importance of faith, 
prayer, and religion.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, and now from Minnesota, another leader on 
many of these issues, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
  Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia.
  Our President John Quincy Adams said, ``The virtue which had been 
infused into the Constitution of the United States . . . was no other 
than . . . those abstract principles which had been first proclaimed in 
the Declaration of Independence--namely, the self-evident truths of the 
natural and unalienable rights of man . . . This was the platform upon 
which the Constitution of the United States had been erected.''
  Abraham Lincoln similarly made reference to the importance of these 
foundational principles when he said, ``I have never had a thought 
politically which did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the 
Declaration of Independence.''
  The Declaration contains 12 such sentiments which follow:
  The Pillar number 1 is National Sovereignty.
  The Declaration of Independence could just as well be called the 
``Declaration of National Sovereignty.''
  Pillar number 2: Natural law. Natural law is the universal moral code 
that governs all people.
  Pillar number 3: Self-evident Truth. We hold these truths to be self-
evident, evidence for all to see.
  Pillar number 4: Equality. We hold these truths to be self-evident 
that all men are created equal.
  Pillar number 5: Inalienable Rights. Inalienable rights are not 
granted by government. They are granted to us by God. The role of 
government, then, is to protect our God-given rights.
  Pillar number 6: The Inalienable Right to Life.
  Pillar number 7: The Inalienable Right to Liberty.
  Pillar number 8: The Inalienable Right to Private Property.
  Pillar number 9: The primary purpose of government is to protect the 
inalienable rights. That to secure these rights, governments are 
instituted among men.
  Pillar number 10: Popular Sovereignty. To secure these rights, 
governments derived their just powers from the consent of the governed.
  Pillar number 11: Federalism and State rights. The Declaration 
affirms not only the sovereignty of the Federal United States, but also 
the sovereignty of the separate states.
  And finally, Pillar number 12: Divine Providence. The Declaration of 
Independence ends with this sentence:
  And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the 
Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our 
Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
  The Colonists stated their conviction that there is a God in the 
Heavens who ultimately governs in the affairs of men. There is no 
Natural law without a Law giver. The unalienable rights they said were 
God-given. Equality, they said, was the state in which we were created 
by God.
  May God bless to this present generation the memory of the 
Declaration of Independence and the 12 principles contained therein.
  Mr. Speaker, it is vital that we recognize the rich spiritual and 
religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history, and 
I rise today to express support for the designation of the first week 
in May as ``American Religious History Week'' to raise the appreciation 
of and to promote education on America's history of religious faith.
  In doing so, we recommit ourselves to our nation's common religious 
faith, also called ``the American Creed.'' We reconnect our people with 
our most basic principles--our fundamental statement of faith--as 
stated in our foundational Document, the Declaration of Independence.
  This document is a Declaration that we are first and foremost a 
religious country. It clarifies that our breaking of the bond with 
Great Britain was justified by the spiritual principle of Natural Law--
the universal and God-given understanding of morality and human rights 
that applies to all people and all nations throughout the world.
  This American Creed stated in the Declaration clarifies that all 
people are entitled to be free, to have their lives protected and to 
own property. Why? Because our Creator--God made us that way.
  Our forefathers understood that God made us to be largely like him. 
That is, they understood that just as God is free, he made us with a 
right to be free. Just as God lives, he made us with a right to live; 
and just as God owns everything, he made us with a right to own some 
things.
  The founders understood that religion is the foundation of a just 
society. Here it is in their own words.
  ``All our basic rights and freedoms are recognized by the American 
Creed as belonging to us and inherent in us because of religious 
principles. If we fail to recognize our nation's religious foundation, 
these same rights and freedoms become increasingly vulnerable.''
  The Declaration ends by appealing to ``Divine Providence''. That is, 
our Declaration says that the success of this new republic depends on 
God looking favorably upon it and protecting it.
  Today, we recommit ourselves and our country to these all-important 
religious foundational principles. Today, we recommit ourselves to 
being free.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, now I would like to recognize another good 
friend from the State of South Carolina (Gresham Barrett).
  Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, President John Adams once said, ``The highest story of 
the American Revolution is this. It connected in one indissoluble bond 
the principles of civil government with the principles of 
Christianity.''
  So often we hear about the idea of separation of church and State. 
Mr. Speaker, I believe in the idea of separation of not from church, a 
distinction worth noting.
  Our Founding Fathers never believed that faith should be taken out of 
our lives. However, they did believe that government should not 
interfere with an individual's faith. Unfortunately, in the society 
which we live in today, this distinction has been ignored. It has been 
forced out of everyday lives, and it saddens me, Mr. Speaker
  The faith of the American people remains at the center of our great 
Nation. Our Founding Fathers were faithful men who believed every 
individual had the right to express their religious beliefs without 
fear of persecution or discrimination.
  It was Thomas Jefferson, Mr. Speaker, who first uttered the term 
``separation of church and state,'' indeed believed that faith played a 
vital role in the government of our Nation. While President, Jefferson 
said, ``No Nation has ever existed or been governed without religion. 
Nor can be.''
  During his public life, Jefferson urged local government officials to 
make land available specifically for Christian purposes, chose to 
attend church each Sunday at the Capitol, and even provided the service 
with paid government musicians to assist in the worship. Jefferson 
proposed that the Great Seal of the United States depict a story in the 
Bible and include the word ``God'' in its motto.
  Enclosed are Presidential documents with the phrase, ``In the year of 
our Lord Christ, by the President, Thomas Jefferson.''
  Mr. Speaker, I'm thankful to be able to address this House on this 
subject and for the opportunity to cosponsor this legislation 
designating an American Religious History Week. By their actions, our 
Founding Fathers showed us that faith and government can and should 
exist together. It's important for those here and now and future 
generations, Mr. Speaker, to remember the

[[Page 12653]]

religious heritage of our Nation. I'm convinced that it's only by God's 
grace that our Nation has survived the many trials and tests we've 
experienced. And I will continue to turn to God to seek his guidance 
and make decisions affecting our country, and I believe by remaining 
faithful, our Nation will continue to thrive as a beacon of hope in the 
future.
  I pray, Mr. Speaker, that God will continue to bless America.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you for those words of wisdom.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the gentleman from Michigan 
(Thaddeus McCotter).
  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia and 
the gentleman from North Carolina for holding this.
  Phillip Bobbitt, the author of the ``Shield of Achilles,'' once wrote 
that if you don't know where you have been, you won't know where you're 
going, and any road will take you there.
  Throughout the history of the 20th century, we have seen where people 
who deny the role of religion within their government--the hells to 
which they have descended, hells of which Dostoevsky warned a long time 
ago that all manners of things are possible in the absence of God.
  It has been said tonight, and rightly so, that the United States, 
from its founding, has understood a self-evident truth that our liberty 
comes not from the pen of a government bureaucrat but is written on our 
hearts by almighty God. It is this self-evident truth that allows us to 
understand that it is our liberty which has curated the subservient 
government which exists to protect our God-given rights.
  I think it is also important that we understand that history is not 
merely something that happened 200 years ago, 100. But let us look back 
to our own recent history of religion and its salubrious effects on the 
American people.
  In the civil rights struggle, it was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Junior, who understood that America was a country founded upon 
the principle of equality for all because all human beings were endowed 
by the creator with the gift of liberty. It was the Reverend Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Junior, who appealed to the conscience of this country to 
allow us to live together and to one day achieve the dream of equality, 
regardless of race.
  In pursuit of this noble goal, in pursuit of this Godly goal, Dr. 
King was slain. And in a eulogy performed for him in Indianapolis in 
the wake of this tragedy, it was Senator Robert F. Kennedy who said, 
And even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget, falls drop by drop 
upon the heart until then our own despair, against our will, comes 
wisdom through the awful grace of God.
  In that moment of anguish for our Nation, which would be repeated 
shortly thereafter for Senator Kennedy, we saw that religion and 
government in the United States were not exclusive but complimentary. 
And we saw that what binds us together as the greatest Nation on the 
face of the earth stems not from government but from the yearnings and 
the common bounds of our own heart.
  This recognition, this understanding of where we've been, where we 
are, and where together we must go, is what will allow America to 
remain a community of destiny, inspired and guided by the virtuous 
genius of her free people and eternally blessed by the unfathomable 
grace of God.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, Congressman McCotter.
  Mr. Speaker, now I would like to yield to the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Manzullo).
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, when Jefferson was given the duty and 
obligation of drafting the Declaration of Independence, he could have 
turned to the Revolutionaries of lower Europe, the followers of Russo, 
which led to the Jacobites and the reign of terror who believe that man 
is the center of the universe and man is the ultimate judge of what is 
truth.
  But instead, Jefferson turned to the writings of Blackstone and 
Locke. Ms. Blackstone, the great jurist of England, examined the laws 
of England and laid them side by side with the biblical statements to 
come up with something called the Doctrine of Natural Law. And 
Blackstone said, When the supreme being formed the universe and created 
matter out of nothing, he impressed certain principles upon that matter 
from which it could never depart, without which it would cease to be.
  This will of a Maker is called the Law of Nature for as God, when he 
created matter and did it with a principle of mobility, established 
certain rules for the perpetual direction of that motion so when he 
created man and indued him with free will to conduct himself in all 
parts of life, he laid down certain immutable laws of human nature.
  Considering the Creator only as a being of infinite power, he was 
able unquestionably to prescribe whatever laws he placed to his 
creature, man, whoever unfit or severe. But as he is also a being of 
infinite wisdom, he has laid down only such laws as were founded in 
those relations of justice.
  These are the quotes of Blackstone. It was the thoughts of 
Blackstone, in fact many of the words that were incorporated directly 
into the Declaration of Independence, and that great document set forth 
not only our severance from Great Britain, but also a statement as to 
the source of laws in this country that God is the source of liberty, 
that man is given the power to form governments for the purpose of 
protecting those rights that God gives.

                              {time}  2115

  Jefferson took that knowledge, sat down, inscribed that into the 
Declaration, and that's what forms the basis of the law of America. 
It's the law of nature and of nature's God.
  Mr. FORBES. I'd now like to recognize from the State of Colorado, Ms. 
Marilyn Musgrave.
  Ms. MUSGRAVE. Thank you, Mr. Forbes, for your leadership on this 
issue.
  As we ponder the importance of our spiritual heritage tonight, we 
need to remember that it's really central to the founding of America. 
We are reminded of this when we cite the Pledge of Allegiance at public 
events and in our children's classrooms. We all know that our Nation's 
motto is, ``In God We Trust,'' and that is printed on our currency, and 
it's really imprinted right here in the Capitol Building itself.
  Christianity was not only important in American life during the 
periods of discovery, exploration, colonization, and growth, but it has 
also been incorporated and acknowledged in all three branches of our 
American government since its inception.
  Our Founding Fathers firmly believed that America could not be built 
or governed without acknowledging that ``God rules in the affairs of 
men.''
  John Quincy Adams once said, ``The Declaration of Independence laid 
the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of 
Christianity.'' It is in this religious tradition that our Nation has 
grown over the course of 300 years.
  Our foundation of prayer has been a rock when the tides of freedom 
and peace were changing. America has not been immune to the devastation 
of war, and in the midst of intense trials and hardship, our leaders 
have always turned to God and prayer.
  During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt not only led the 
Nation in a 6-minute prayer during D Day on June 6, 1944, but he also 
declared, ``If we will not prepare to give all that we have and all 
that we are to preserve Christian civilization in our land, we shall go 
to destruction.''
  America's religious legacy must be preserved. If some in America 
continue to deny the importance of our spiritual heritage, our leaders 
and our citizens will no longer have this foundation to stand on as 
many have stood on for centuries.
  I close with the words of former President Ronald Reagan: ``The 
lesson is clear that in the winning if freedom and in the living of 
life, the first step is prayer.''
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, Marilyn, for those words, and now I'd like to 
yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman).
  Mr. WITTMAN of Virginia. I thank the gentleman from Virginia for 
yielding.

[[Page 12654]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the significant contributions of 
Thomas Jefferson to the religious heritage of this great Nation.
  Thomas Jefferson stated in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom 
in 1779 that ``No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any 
religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be 
enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor 
shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; 
but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, 
their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no 
wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.''
  Our Founding Fathers conquered tremendous obstacles to establish our 
esteemed United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The 
adoption of these documents as laws of the land brought forth the 
certainty that we would live in a Nation where our natural rights as 
citizens are defended with all our might.
  Thomas Jefferson, the second President of the United States, and one 
of our Nation's Founding Fathers, understood the need for protecting 
our natural rights. All of these rights were important to him, but none 
meant more than the freedom of religion.
  The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written in 1779 by 
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The statute declares that 
compulsory religion is wrong, that no religion should be enforced on an 
individual, and that the freedom of religion is a natural right. As a 
Virginian, I am indebted to the Commonwealth and the General Assembly 
for the adoption in 1786 of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. 
The statute's doctrine and principles have inspired individuals beyond 
the Commonwealth and across the Nation.
  Thomas Jefferson requested that three of his greatest accomplishments 
be listed on his epitaph. Freedom of religion was so important to him 
that the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was listed along with 
the founding of the University of Virginia and the writing of the 
United States Declaration of Independence as his greatest lifetime 
achievements. The statute ultimately facilitated the path to complete 
religious freedom in the United States and was eventually included in 
the first amendment to our Constitution.
  Jefferson believed and argued that the concept of enforced religion 
is entirely erroneous, and he fought to uphold any measure that would 
contradict his belief in religious freedom. Throughout the years since 
Jefferson, our Nation has undergone tremendous internal and external 
turmoil, and it has gone through some significant transition. Yet, the 
right of religious freedom has stood tried and true.
  I am privileged to join my colleagues from Virginia, Representative 
Forbes, and 83 other cosponsors in signing my name on House Resolution 
888, legislation which will continue to preserve and affirm our natural 
rights that were set forth by our Nation's Founding Fathers.
  I am honored to live in such a Nation where I can openly profess my 
faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to share with others 
Christ's word, as well as the impact His words have on my life.
  Jefferson once stated, ``From the dissensions among Sects themselves 
arise necessarily a right of choosing and necessity of deliberating to 
which we will conform. But if we choose for ourselves, we must allow 
others to choose also, and so reciprocally, this establishes religious 
liberty.''
  I am truly grateful to Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian, a true patriot, 
a Founding Father, and above all else, a leader whose vision has stood 
the test of time and a man who stood so resolutely for religious 
freedom in our Nation.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, Rob, and now, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to 
recognize another great leader in the House of Representatives from the 
State of Texas, Congressman John Carter.
  Mr. CARTER. I thank my good friend from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) for 
yielding to me.
  I've been very, very impressed with the folks that have gathered here 
today to tell us about the religious history of the United States of 
America. It is so important that Americans and Members of this House 
remember the history of this country and how important the Christian 
religion has been to the history of the United States of America, and 
what an important part of the very basis of our society it is.
  But I think it's important, too, for the people of this House and for 
the men and women back home to know that this religious history 
continues in the House of Representatives of the United States of 
America.
  The first day I walked through the door of this beloved building, the 
Capitol of the United States, the first time my old Texas boots set 
foot inside this building, I was approached by a man who said, ``I 
think you're Carter from Texas, right? You just got elected.'' I said, 
``Yes, sir.'' He said, ``Well, my name's Ron from Kansas.'' He said, 
``I saw by your Web site that you proclaim yourself to be a Christian. 
I want to invite you to a gathering of men and women that get together 
and study the Bible and pray together for this country, and we're 
meeting tomorrow morning. Would you join us?''
  Recognizing who Jim Ryun was, the famous miler from Kansas, I was 
flattered by the invitation, and I actually got there an hour early for 
the event and sat outside in the halls before the rest of them showed 
up. But I can tell you that that has been a major part of my life for 
the 6 years I've been in Congress because of the fellowship of those 
men and women who gathered that day in various numbers. Bipartisan is 
part of the deal, and we will sit and talk, visit, pray and discuss the 
Bible, and it revitalizes my life every day and every week.
  And I have a friend back home who is in the radio business, and I 
call him from time to time. He always signs off with me by saying, ``Be 
sure and do the Lord's work in the devil's city.'' It's a joke and we 
laugh about it, but the reality is that there are people who think of 
that, of this city as the devil's city, and I'm here to tell him that 
the Lord is alive and well. The Lord Jesus Christ reigns in the capital 
city of the United States of America.
  They need to hear that that is part of the present history of the 
United States, and there are men and women who gather almost every day 
as people of faith and pray for this great Nation.
  The little group that we're a part of, we formed up the National 
Prayer Caucus. That National Prayer Caucus is catching on around the 
country, and people are gathering and praying for the United States of 
America. I would hope that every Member of this Congress and every 
American citizen would take to their knees and pray for the future of 
our country and for the salvation of America.
  That is what we need. That is what saves our Nation and that's what's 
here. The history is not only the history of the past, which is 
glorious; it is the history of the present, and the present is full of 
grace and peace and love of Jesus Christ in this building and around 
this town, and I want everybody to know it. It's part of our Nation 
today, just as it was at its founding and throughout its history.
  So it's wonderful that I may stand and rise in support this week 
where we acknowledge the history, the religious history of our Nation.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, John, and now, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to 
recognize someone who has led us in so many of these issues for so many 
years from the State of Michigan, Congressman Vern Ehlers.
  Mr. EHLERS. I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding, and I 
especially thank him for organizing this discussion together.
  My comments are going to be a bit different from some of the others 
because I'm going to talk about an event in my hometown this week which 
brought home to me how far we have strayed from our complete 
understanding of the Constitution of the United States.
  Let me quote the first amendment, and this amendment is first because 
the 13 colonies decided this was the most important amendment. 
``Congress

[[Page 12655]]

shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press,'' et cetera.
  The event I'm going to talk about that happened in my hometown 
received extensive coverage. A graduating student at a local public 
high school was asked to give a speech. This is a model student. He had 
done well, he was respected, and he was asked to talk about his life 
experiences. And in that talk, which he had to submit for approval 
ahead of time, he discussed his life experience, including his 
religious life. That was judged improper, and he was removed from that 
particular duty that day.
  Now, I fail to understand how anyone reading the first amendment of 
the Constitution would think that the Supreme Court has ruled that a 
student discussing his life experiences could not mention his religious 
life. And yet that is how far we have come in this Nation in our 
misunderstanding of our origins and what it should be.
  I come from a religious community. In fact, our community is 
sometimes called the ``City of Churches,'' Grand Rapids, Michigan.

                              {time}  2130

  Last week, we dedicated a Hindu temple; a few years ago, a Buddhist 
temple. And we also have a Muslim mosque, actually, fairly close to my 
home.
  We meet the test of the first amendment. We do not prohibit the free 
exercise of religion and the founding of various religious 
establishments. But I have to say, with this particular high school, I 
would not be able to give a commencement speech there because I would 
not be able to give a commencement speech without speaking about my 
life experiences and what I thought the students were going to face, 
and what they would need to face their life experiences.
  I find it fascinating in the Capitol, we start with prayer every day, 
we have a chaplain, we have a Prayer Breakfast once a week, we have 
Bible studies in the Capitol. No one raises a feather against this and 
says this is wrong, this is unconstitutional. And if it's permissible 
in the Capitol of the United States, why is it not permissible across 
the Nation? It should be. Everyone should be free to discuss their 
beliefs and their religion and their faith in God. That's what the 
first amendment is all about.
  And let's not get hung up about Supreme Court decisions, ACLU 
lawsuits, et cetera. Let's recognize the clear language of the first 
amendment and let's let our citizens have the freedom that the founders 
of this Nation intended in the area of religious belief and the 
government's role therein.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, Vernon.
  Mr. Speaker, now I would like to recognize, from the State of 
Colorado, Mr. Doug Lamborn.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues in 
recognition of American Religious History Week, and I thank Mr. Forbes 
for his leadership.
  There are traces of America's religious history all across this 
Nation. And many things, even here in this very room, convince me that 
our Nation's founders were intent on preserving the religious beliefs 
and principles upon which our liberty depends.
  Our Nation's motto, ``In God we trust,'' is enshrined above the 
Speaker's chair right there. And across the Chamber is a facade of 
Moses, who gazes on the floor where we today write the law of the land. 
On the ceiling of this Chamber our State seals are found, one of which 
bears the motto, ``Nil Sine Numine,'' which was adopted by my great 
State of Colorado. In English, these words mean ``nothing without 
providence,'' a phrase that undoubtedly influenced the men and women 
who labored for the great Republic we have always known.
  We are greatly indebted to the faith of our founders, which changed 
history. In fact, in 1818, our second President of the United States, 
John Adams, shared this reflection on the true American Revolution. He 
said, ``The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The 
Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people, a change in their 
religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. This radical 
change in the principles, opinions, sentiments and affections of the 
people was the real American Revolution.''
  Our Judeo-Christian heritage, unlike any other in the history of the 
world, is deeply rooted in the philosophy that all men were created in 
the image of God, endowed with natural rights given to them by God 
alone rather than by the State. This is the bedrock principle which we 
must never forget. If we forget this, like many societies before us, we 
run the dangerous risk of falling prey to tyranny.
  Early Americans understood that if government was the source of 
freedom rather than God, then government can also take it way. We 
declare ourselves ``one Nation under God'' with Him as the source of 
our rights and our freedom, and that makes us unique among the nations. 
It is for these reasons we recognize our religious heritage because it 
is still relevant to our freedom today.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you, Doug.
  Now I'd like to recognize Mr. David Davis from Tennessee.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Thank you, Mr. Forbes. I appreciate you 
giving me the opportunity to be with you.
  I rise tonight in support of H.R. 888.
  Psalm 33:12 says, ``Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.'' It 
doesn't say, ``Blessed is the nation whose God was the Lord,'' and 
there's a difference. Our Founding Fathers understood the difference. 
As has been stated before, you can see it all through these hallowed 
Chambers. Above the Speaker's dais you will see the words, ``In God we 
trust.'' Unfortunately, on TV at times you don't see the words ``In God 
We Trust,'' they cut just a little bit below that. You will see Moses 
in full array in the back of the Chamber.
  This building, the Capitol of the United States, was actually used 
for church services in its early history. Out in the Rotunda, you will 
see many beautiful paintings. The first one you come to in the Rotunda 
you will actually see Pocahontas, that you will remember from 
Thanksgiving. Well, Pocahontas, in the painting, is actually depicted 
right after she changed her name to Rebecca when she became a Christian 
and was baptized. Our Founding Fathers understood our Christian Nation 
and our Christian heritage.
  And President James Buchanan understood this completely when he 
issued a proclamation in 1860 entitled ``Humiliation, Fasting and 
Prayer.'' And he's quoted, ``In this, the hour of our calamity and 
peril, to whom shall we resort for relief but to the God of our 
Fathers? His omnipotent arm only can save us from the awful effects of 
our own crimes and follies, of our own ingratitude and guilt towards 
our Heavenly Father.'' It certainly sounds to me like President James 
Buchanan understood ``Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.''
  We understand today that America isn't great because we have a large 
government. We're great because down through history, if we had a 
problem, we turned to God first and then we turned to our neighbors, 
not to a big government. And if we want to continue to be that great 
Nation, we need to look to II Chronicles 7:14, which says, ``If my 
people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray and 
seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from 
heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.''
  We need healing in our land.
  Mr. FORBES. Thank you. Now I would like to recognize from Arizona, 
Mr. Trent Franks.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank Mr. Forbes, and I thank the Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, if, indeed, our Founding Fathers were right, that all 
men are created, then it follows that all men of reason much surely 
sense their duty to reverently acknowledge their Creator.
  In the modern world of abundance in which we live, I am afraid that 
we have become arrogant and often educated beyond our own common sense 
to the extent that we have forgotten sometimes that self-evident truth. 
But Mr. Speaker, how fortunate we are that those who went before us did 
not forget

[[Page 12656]]

that foundational truth and they held it in their hearts.
  President George Washington, on the very same day that Congress 
finished drafting the first amendment, declared, ``It is the duty of 
all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to Obey His 
will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His 
protection and favor.'' William Penn, one of our great champions of 
liberty and founder of what would become Pennsylvania said, ``Those 
people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.'' And 
President Andrew Jackson said, ``The Bible is the bedrock on which our 
Republic rests.''
  Mr. Speaker, today the secular left often seeks to destroy any 
vestige of this Nation's religious heritage in history. They seek not 
to prevent the establishment of religion, but rather, to relentlessly 
destroy the free exercise thereof. Indeed, they are determined to 
rewrite America's history, devoid of any mention or trace of the very 
ideal that gave birth to this Nation in the first place. If left 
unchecked, they will not stop until they have pulled down the very last 
Christian cross or Star of David out in Arlington National Cemetery. 
But, Mr. Speaker, they will not succeed. Because, you see, there is 
something in the heart of every human being that knows that beyond this 
world, beyond the stars, and beyond life itself is an Almighty God that 
holds each one of us in His hands. Our Founding Fathers knew that 
truth, Mr. Speaker. They knew that America herself was proof that 
indeed there is an angel that still rides in the whirlwind and directs 
this storm. I pray for the sake of America and all that made her great 
tonight that this generation does not forget this great, immutable, 
self-evident truth that for more than two centuries has been the 
bedrock foundation of the greatest Republic in the history of mankind.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, thank you for our time. I know that our time 
is expired. We have a few other gentlemen that I hope will be 
recognized later by the House. But, Mr. Speaker, thank you for your 
patience.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.

                          ____________________