[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17335]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Palazzo) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my concern over recent 
events taking place in my home State and around our Nation that tear at 
the fabric of our country's First Amendment right to freedom of 
religion.
  Time and again we have seen instances in which an individual's right 
to practice his or her faith has been subordinated to the sensibilities 
of individuals who do not share their faith in God.
  In Mississippi, we saw it in August when a high school band from 
Brandon, Mississippi, was forbidden from playing the hymn ``How Great 
Thou Art'' at a football game. We saw it in September in Lamar County 
as a teacher was ridiculed and disciplined for posting a voluntary 
prayer list in her classroom.
  Just last week, I, along with 45 other Members, joined Congressman 
Forbes and Senator Lankford in support of Coach Kennedy of Bremerton 
High School in Washington State. Coach Kennedy's 8-year tradition of 
walking to the 50-yard line after the conclusion of football games to 
say a quiet prayer was banned last month due to the school district's 
concern that his actions could be construed as an endorsement of 
religion.
  Recently we have even seen a Marine Corps base in Hawaii come under 
fire for having a road sign read, ``God bless the military, their 
families, and the citizens who work with them.'' Wow, even our United 
States Marines are attacked for exercising their faith.
  Mr. Speaker, opponents of religious freedom have been energized by 
recent decisions made by the United States Supreme Court as well as 
lower courts, both of which have placed the cultural views of a small 
group ahead of the thoughts, feelings, and rights of the vast majority 
of Americans.
  Judicial activism at all levels of the Federal judiciary has resulted 
in the systematic rewriting of centuries-old societal norms, and this 
must end. Time and again our courts have waded into waters which the 
Constitution specifically vests in the legislative branch. What is at 
stake here is nothing less than the future of our country's religious 
liberties, the religious liberties upon which our very Nation was 
founded.
  Those who have would have God completely removed from public 
discourse--be it marriage, health care, or the right of schoolchildren 
to pray or play religious music during football game halftimes are 
pleased with the first part of the amendment: ``Congress shall make no 
law respecting the establishment of religion.'' However, they 
conveniently ignore the second part: ``or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof.'' This amendment was enacted by our framers to protect 
religion from government, not the reverse.
  Mr. Speaker, families are struggling to keep it together. Single-
parent households are at an all-time high. Poverty, incarceration, 
teenage pregnancy, and drug usage are all around us. When and where 
prayer is needed the most, it is no longer allowed or is forbidden. How 
can we try to remove from the public sphere the one thing that holds us 
together, and that is our religion?
  We can no longer simply leave our religion at the church doors. It is 
our responsibility to live out our values and beliefs in our everyday 
lives. Edmund Burke said it best: ``The only thing necessary for the 
triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.''
  I support the free expression of religion in all quarters of our 
society, and I stand with Coach Kennedy, the band from Brandon, the 
teacher in Lamar County, and every other American who has been stripped 
of their religious freedoms. I am committed to protecting our right to 
express our faith without fear of governmental intrusion or 
retaliation, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, God bless America.

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