IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 56 
Protecting Religious Freedom in America. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 16, 2019 
Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Protecting Religious Freedom in America. 
Whereas it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
Federal, State, and local governments should not infringe 
on the ability of citizens to act in accordance with their 
religious beliefs; 
Whereas the United States was founded on the principles of 
freedom and democracy, and as Benjamin Franklin stat-
ed in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1737 ‘‘Freedom of 
speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when 
this support is taken away, the constitution of a free soci-
ety is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.’’; 
Whereas freedom from religious persecution motivated many 
to flee Europe and make a new life in America and ap-
proximately 20,000 Puritans left England and settled in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:12 Jan 17, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR56.IH
HR56
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 56 IH 
America in search of the liberty to worship God according 
to their beliefs; 
Whereas the Declaration of Independence affirms the sov-
ereignty of God ‘‘. . . they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are 
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness . . .’’; 
Whereas the right to freedom of speech was codified in the 
First Amendment to the Bill of Rights, which states 
‘‘Congress 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; or the 
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
the government for a redress of grievances.’’; 
Whereas the freedom of religion is not simply a blessing, but 
also a right and as our first President George Wash-
ington said, ‘‘The liberty enjoyed by the people of these 
states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their con-
science, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, 
but also of their rights.’’; 
Whereas George Washington also said, ‘‘Let us with caution 
indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained 
without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to 
expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of 
religious principle.’’; 
Whereas the right to freedom of speech applies to speech 
based on religious beliefs, and as Thomas Jefferson stat-
ed ‘‘That the opinions of men are not the object of civil 
government, not under its jurisdiction; 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 dan-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:12 Jan 17, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR56.IH
HR56
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 56 IH 
gerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious lib-
erty.’’; 
Whereas the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, 
which protects the right to practice religion, is applied to 
the States through the 14th Amendment and as stated 
by the Supreme Court: ‘‘Freedom of conscience and free-
dom to adhere to such religious organization or form of 
worship as the individual may choose cannot be restricted 
by law.’’ Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940); 
Whereas the Government may not determine which moral or 
religious beliefs are acceptable and ‘‘Religious beliefs 
need not be acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehen-
sible to others in order to merit First Amendment protec-
tion.’’ Thomas v. Review Bd. of Indiana Employment Se-
curity Div., 450 U.S. 707, 714 (1981); 
Whereas at the founding of our Nation, it was known even 
then that ‘‘nothing is more dreaded than the national 
government meddling with religion.’’ (John Adams); 
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 v. California ‘‘But, above all else, the First 
Amendment means that government has no power to re-
strict expression because of its message, its ideas, its sub-
ject matter, or its content.’’; 
Whereas protection of religious liberty remains undeniably 
intertwined with the freedoms inherent in democracy, 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 life, may I just say: 
The first amendment of the Constitution was not written 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:12 Jan 17, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR56.IH
HR56
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 56 IH 
to protect the people of this country from religious val-
ues; it was written to protect religious values from gov-
ernment tyranny.’’; and 
Whereas persecution because of religious beliefs will not be 
tolerated within the United States: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the United States Government should not 
infringe upon the ability of American citizens to act 
in accordance with their sincerely held religious be-
liefs; and 
(2) the United States Government condemns 
any behavior by the States that limits the ability of 
individuals to express their religious beliefs. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:12 Jan 17, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR56.IH
HR56
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS