Title: A concurrent resolution affirming the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human right that is essential to a free society and protected for all people of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, and recognizing the 231st anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
Calls for honoring the 231st anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Religious Freedom Day, January 16, 2017.
Affirms that:

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 5 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 5

 Affirming the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human 
right that is essential to a free society and protected for all people 
 of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, and 
  recognizing the 231st anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia 
                     Statute for Religious Freedom.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 17, 2017

   Mr. Daines (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Lankford, Mr. 
Inhofe, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Risch, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
   Sasse, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Crapo) submitted the following concurrent 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Affirming the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human 
right that is essential to a free society and protected for all people 
 of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, and 
  recognizing the 231st anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia 
                     Statute for Religious Freedom.

Whereas United States democracy is rooted in the fundamental truth that all 
        people are created equal, endowed by the Creator with certain 
        inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
        happiness;
Whereas the freedom of conscience was highly valued by--

    (1) individuals seeking religious freedom who settled in the American 
colonies;

    (2) the founders of the United States; and

    (3) Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in his letter to the Society of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church at New London, Connecticut, dated February 4, 
1809, that ``[n]o provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man 
than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprizes 
of the civil authority'';

Whereas the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was--

    (1) drafted by Thomas Jefferson, who considered the Virginia Statute 
for Religious Freedom to be one of his greatest achievements;

    (2) enacted on January 16, 1786; and

    (3) the forerunner to the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment 
to the Constitution of the United States;

Whereas section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
        U.S.C. 6401(a)) states that--

    (1) ``[t]he right to freedom of religion undergirds the very origin and 
existence of the United States''; and

    (2) religious freedom was established by the founders of the United 
States ``in law, as a fundamental right and as a pillar of our Nation'';

Whereas the role of religion in United States society and public life has a long 
        and robust tradition;
Whereas individuals who have studied United States democracy from an 
        international perspective, such as Alexis de Tocqueville, have noted 
        that religion plays a central role in preserving the United States 
        Government because religion provides the moral base required for 
        democracy to succeed;
Whereas, in Town of Greece v. Galloway, 134 S. Ct. 1811 (2014), the United 
        States Supreme Court affirmed that ``people of many faiths may be united 
        in a community of tolerance and devotion'';
Whereas the principle of religious freedom ``has guided our Nation forward'', as 
        expressed by the 44th President of the United States in his Presidential 
        proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 2011, and freedom of religion 
        ``is a universal human right to be protected here at home and across the 
        globe'', as expressed by that President of the United States on 
        Religious Freedom Day in 2013;
Whereas ``[f]reedom of religion is a fundamental human right that must be upheld 
        by every nation and guaranteed by every government'', as expressed by 
        the 42nd President of the United States in his Presidential proclamation 
        on Religious Freedom Day in 1999;
Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects--

    (1) the right of individuals to express freely and act on their 
religious beliefs; and

    (2) individuals from coercion to profess or act on a religious belief 
to which they do not adhere;

Whereas ``our laws and institutions should not impede or hinder but rather 
        should protect and preserve fundamental religious liberties'', as 
        expressed by the 42nd President of the United States in his remarks 
        accompanying the signing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 
        1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.);
Whereas for countless people of the United States, faith is an integral part of 
        every aspect of daily life and is not limited to their homes, houses of 
        worship, or doctrinal creeds;
Whereas ``religious faith has inspired many of our fellow citizens to help build 
        a better Nation'' in which ``people of faith continue to wage a 
        determined campaign to meet needs and fight suffering'', as expressed by 
        the 43rd President of the United States in his Presidential proclamation 
        on Religious Freedom Day in 2003;
Whereas ``from its birth to this day, the United States has prized this legacy 
        of religious freedom and honored this heritage by standing for religious 
        freedom and offering refuge to those suffering religious persecution'', 
        as noted in section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 
        1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a));
Whereas Thomas Jefferson wrote--

    (1) in 1798 that each right encompassed in the First Amendment to the 
United States Constitution is dependent on the other rights described in 
that Amendment, ``thereby guarding in the same sentence, and under the same 
words, the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press: insomuch, that 
whatever violated either, throws down the sanctuary which covers the 
others''; and

    (2) in 1822 that the constitutional freedom of religion is ``the most 
inalienable and sacred of all human rights'';

Whereas religious freedom ``has been integral to the preservation and 
        development of the United States'', and ``the free exercise of religion 
        goes hand in hand with the preservation of our other rights'', as 
        expressed by the 41st President of the United States in his Presidential 
        proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 1993; and
Whereas we ``continue to proclaim the fundamental right of all peoples to 
        believe and worship according to their own conscience, to affirm their 
        beliefs openly and freely, and to practice their faith without fear or 
        intimidation'', as expressed by the 42nd President of the United States 
        in his Presidential proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 1998: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) on Religious Freedom Day on January 16, 2017, honors 
        the 231st anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute 
        for Religious Freedom; and
            (2) affirms that--
                    (A) for individuals of any faith and individuals of 
                no faith, religious freedom includes the right of an 
                individual to live, work, associate, and worship in 
                accordance with the beliefs of the individual;
                    (B) all people of the United States can be unified 
                in supporting religious freedom, regardless of 
                differing individual beliefs, because religious freedom 
                is a fundamental human right; and
                    (C) ``the American people will remain forever 
                unshackled in matters of faith'', as expressed by the 
                44th President of the United States in his Presidential 
                proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 2012.
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