,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ef  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,january #af1        
#bjai,mr4 ,mooney of ,west ,virginia    
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
the ,judiciary  ,,resolution            
,protecting ,religious ,freedom in      
,america4  ,whereas it is the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives that     
,federal1 ,state1 and local governments 
should not infringe on the ability of   
citizens to act in accordance with their
 religious beliefs2 ,whereas the ,united
 ,states was founded on the principles  
of freedom and democracy1 and as        
,benjamin ,franklin stated in the       
,pennsylvania ,gazette in #agcg ,freedom
 of speech is a principal pillar of a   
free government2 when this support is   
taken away1 the constitution of a free  
society is dissolved1 and tyranny is    
erected on its ruins42 ,whereas freedom 
from religious persecution motivated    
many to flee ,europe and make a new life

 in ,america and approximately #bj1jjj  
,puritans left ,england and settled in  
,america in search of the liberty to    
worship ,god according to their beliefs2
 ,whereas the ,declaration of           
,independence affirms the sovereignty of
 ,god ''' they are endowed by their     
,creator with certain unalienable       
,rights1 that among these are ,life1    
,liberty1 and the pursuit of ,happiness 
'''2 ,whereas the right to freedom of   
speech was codified in the ,first       
,amendment to the ,bill of ,rights1     
which states ,congress shall make no law
 respecting an establishment of         
religion1 or prohibiting the free       
exercise thereof1 or abridging the      
freedom of speech1 or of the press2 or  
the right of the people peaceably to    
assemble1 and to petition the government
 for a redress of grievances42 ,whereas 
the freedom of religion is not simply a 
blessing1 but also a right and as our   
first ,president ,george ,washington    
said1 ,the liberty enjoyed by the people

 of these states of worshiping ,almighty
 ,god agreeably to their conscience1 is 
not only among the choicest of their    
blessings1 but also of their rights42   
,whereas ,george ,washington also said1 
,let us with caution indulge the        
supposition that morality can be        
maintained without religion4 ,reason and
 experience both forbid us to expect    
that national morality can prevail in   
exclusion of religious principle42      
,whereas the right to freedom of speech 
applies to speech based on religious    
beliefs1 and as ,thomas ,jefferson      
stated ,that the opinions of men are not
 the object of civil government1 not    
under its jurisdiction2 that to suffer  
the civil magistrate to intrude his     
powers into the field of opinion and to 
restrain the profession or propagation  
of principles on supposition of their   
ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy1    
which at once destroys all religious    
liberty42 ,whereas the ,free ,exercise  
,clause of the ,first ,amendment1 which 

protects the right to practice religion1
 is applied to the ,states through the  
#adth ,amendment and as stated by the   
,supreme ,court3 ,freedom of conscience 
and freedom to adhere to such religious 
organization or form of worship as the  
individual may choose cannot be         
restricted by law4 ,cantwell v4         
,connecticut1 #caj ,u4,s4 #bif 7#aidj72 
,whereas the ,government may not        
determine which moral or religious      
beliefs are acceptable and ,religious   
beliefs need not be acceptable1 logical1
 consistent1 or comprehensible to others
 in order to merit ,first ,amendment    
protection4 ,thomas v4 ,review ,bd4 of  
,indiana ,employment ,security ,div41   
#dej ,u4,s4 #gjg1 #gad 7#aiha72 ,whereas
 at the founding of our ,nation1 it was 
known even then that nothing is more    
dreaded than the national government    
meddling with religion4 7,john ,adams72 
,whereas ,american citizens must be     
confident that their speech is protected
 even if others disagree with what they 

say and as ,justice ,john ,marshall     
,harlan ,,ii wrote in ,cohen v4         
,california ,but1 above all else1 the   
,first ,amendment means that government 
has no power to restrict expression     
because of its message1 its ideas1 its  
subject matter1 or its content42        
,whereas protection of religious liberty
 remains undeniably intertwined with the
 freedoms inherent in democracy1 and as 
,ronald ,reagan stated ,to those who    
cite the first amendment as reason for  
excluding ,god from more and more of our
 institutions and everyday life1 may ,i 
just say3 ,the first amendment of the   
,constitution was not written to protect
 the people of this country from        
religious values2 it was written to     
protect religious values from government
 tyranny42 and ,whereas persecution     
because of religious beliefs will not be
 tolerated within the ,united ,states3  
,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that it is the 
sense of the ,house of ,representatives 
that-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states         

,government should not infringe upon the
 ability of ,american citizens to act in
 accordance with their sincerely held   
religious beliefs2 and  7#b7 the ,united
 ,states ,government condemns any       
behavior by the ,states that limits the 
ability of individuals to express their 
religious beliefs4