I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5187 

To provide for a cause of action to remedy prohibitions on personal prayer 

in schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 11, 2023 

Mr. GAETZ (for himself, Mr. ROSENDALE, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, 

and Mr. CRANE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for a cause of action to remedy prohibitions 

on personal prayer in schools. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Prayer in 

5 Schools Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The United States of America is a nation 

9 under God. 


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1 (2) The Declaration of Independence makes 

2 clear that our nation was blessed by the ‘‘Supreme 

3 Judge of the world’’ and our laws are derived from 

4 ‘‘Laws of Nature’’ and ‘‘Nature’s God.’’ 

5 (3) At the time of the First Amendment’s 

6 drafting, many states observed state religions and 

7 referred to God in their constitutions—thus, the 1st 

8 Amendment was never intended to contrast with the 

9 existence and veneration of God throughout our 

10 states. 

11 (4) The intent of the Constitution was never to 

12 render the United States a secular country; 

13 (5) Our Founding Fathers would be appalled to 

14 learn the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amend15 ment was being weaponized not to prevent the estab16 lishment of a state religion, but to suppress religion 

17 in schools across the states, contrary to the Free 

18 Exercise Clause. 

19 (6) John Adams said in 1789, while addressing 

20 the Massachusetts Militia, ‘‘Our constitution was 

21 made only for a moral and religious people. It is 

22 wholly inadequate to the government of any other.’’ 

23 (7) On June 28, 1813, John Adams wrote to 

24 Thomas Jefferson saying, ‘‘The general Principles, 

25 on which the Fathers Atchieved Independence, were 


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1 the only Principles in which, that beautiful Assembly 

2 of young Gentlemen could Unite, and these Prin3 ciples only could be intended by them in their Ad4 dress, or by me in my Answer. And what were these 

5 general Principles? I answer, the general Principles 

6 of Christianity. . .’’ 

7 (8) James Madison wrote in 1785 in his Memo8 rial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assess9 ments ‘‘It is the duty of every man to render to the 

10 Creator such homage. Before any man can be con11 sidered as a member of Civil Society, he must be 

12 considered as a subject of the Governor of the Uni13 verse.’’ 

14 (9) Alexander Hamilton wrote to James Bayard 

15 in 1802: ‘‘I now offer you the outline of the plan 

16 they have suggested. Let an association be formed to 

17 be denominated’’The Christian Constitutional Soci18 ety,‘‘ its object to be first: The support of the Chris19 tian religion. Second: The support of Constitution of 

20 the United States.’’ 

21 (10) George Washington, on October 3rd in 

22 1789 at a National Day of Thanksgiving, wrote 

23 ‘‘. . . it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the 

24 providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be 


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1 grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His 

2 protection and favor .’’ 

3 (11) On May 9, 1833 Chief Justice John Mar4 shall wrote to Jasper Adams: ‘‘The American popu5 lation is entirely Christian, and with us Christianity 

6 and Religion are identified. It would be strange in7 deed, if with such a people, our institutions did not 

8 presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to 

9 it, and exhibit relations with it.’’ 

10 (12) On March 28, 1787, Dr. Benjamin Rush 

11 wrote an open letter ‘‘To the citizens of Philadel12 phia: A Plan for Free Schools’’, saying, ‘‘Let the 

13 children . . . be carefully instructed in the principles 

14 and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the 

15 most essential part of education. The great enemy of 

16 the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented 

17 a more effectual means of extirpating Christianity 

18 from the world than by persuading mankind that it 

19 was improper to read the Bible at schools . . .’’ The 

20 only foundation for a useful education in a republic 

21 is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be 

22 no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty. 

23 (13) The Same Congress that passed the 1st 

24 Amendment, also drafted Article 3 of the Northwest 

25 Ordinance which contained the following language: 


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1 ‘‘Religion, Morality and knowledge being necessary 

2 to good government and the happiness of mankind, 

3 Schools and the means of education shall be forever 

4 encouraged.’’ 

5 (14) While the founders did not wish to estab6 lish state religion, they sought to encourage and pro7 tect religion throughout the United States. 

8 (15) The Supreme Court of the United States 

9 held in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District that 

10 the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the 

11 First Amendment protect an individual engaging in 

12 a personal religious observance from government re13 prisal. 

14 (16) The Constitution neither mandates nor 

15 permits the government to suppress such religious 

16 expression. 

17 SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION. 

18 Every person who, under color of any statute, ordi19 nance, regulation, custom, or usage, subjects, or causes 

20 to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other 

21 person within the jurisdiction thereof to any limitation on 

22 the ability of that person to engage in personal prayer in 

23 public elementary and secondary schools shall be liable to 

24 the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or 

25 other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Aug 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5187.IH H5187

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1 tion brought against a judicial officer for an act or omis2 sion taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive re3 lief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was 

4 violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For pur5 poses of this section, the terms ‘‘elementary school’’ and 

6 ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meanings given those terms 

7 in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

Æ 


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