230th Anniversary of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, in 1992, the House and Senate joined together to pass a resolution designating January 16 as Religious Freedom Day to celebrate one of the most powerful and unique freedoms within our Nation's founding and fabric. This day is significant because it marks the passage of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom originally authored by Thomas Jefferson.

2016 marks the 230th anniversary of the passage of this statute that, as Congress recognized, ``inspired and shaped the guarantees of religious freedom in the First Amendment.'' It reads in part: ``. . . no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced . . . in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.''

The Founders understood that there is a direct connection between the prosperity and health of a nation and its respect for human rights and religious freedom. Individual faith grows when people live free of government coercion and control. In America, individuals can practice any faith or no faith. This is true religious freedom--having the freedom to practice a faith or to have no faith at all and to have that choice not only be respected, but protected.

Respecting and protecting this fundamental human right means that we cannot diminish it. The constitutional guarantee of the free exercise of religion means that people have a right to live their faith in public. Saying someone has the right to worship freely at the place of their choosing is not the same thing. Additionally, while one faith group should not be favored over another, so too should we not err on the side of removing faith from the public sphere and opting for no religion at all.

Thomas Jefferson left explicit instructions that his authorship of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom be included on his gravestone as one of only three things for which he wanted ``most to be remembered.''

As we celebrate the 230th anniversary of the passage of this statute, what will we be most remembered for? I hope that we can be remembered for not only honoring this legacy of Thomas Jefferson, but for upholding a right that is fundamental to the core of this nation and to human dignity--religious freedom.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source