[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6018]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, inscribed on the Jefferson 
Memorial is a quotation from Thomas Jefferson that reads, in part: ``No 
man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or 
ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions 
or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to 
maintain their opinions in matter of religion.''
  There is nothing about the National Day of Prayer that compels anyone 
to support any religious worship or ministry. There are no ``prayer 
police.'' In fact, we who support the National Day of Prayer wish it 
were more successful, but in no way do we seek to impose it. Yet all 
men are free to maintain their religion through prayer and other means.
  What threatens some people about a still small moment of silence for 
contemplation or a prayer to a higher being in whatever form? Nothing 
about the National Day of Prayer requires any person to do anything. So 
I ask those who are threatened by this, Where is the harm to them? The 
Founding Fathers gave us freedom of religion, not freedom from 
religion. The court decision declaring the day unconstitutional cannot 
stand.

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