Expressing support for freedom of conscience.

IA 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 78 Expressing support for freedom of conscience. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Mr. BANKS submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Expressing support for freedom of conscience. Whereas the settlement of the 13 colonies was driven in part by those seeking refuge from government-sponsored reli- gious persecution; Whereas the Framers of the Constitution of the United States recognized the centrality of freedom of conscience to the establishment of the United States, enshrining in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States that ‘‘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 griev- ances’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HJ78.IH HJ78 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HJ 78 IH Whereas churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious organizations have played a central and invaluable role in life in the United States; and Whereas Congress has recognized the importance of religious institutions by enacting a variety of legal protections for those institutions, including exemption from income taxes: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 That— 3 (1) the protections of freedom of conscience en- 4 shrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution 5 of the United States remain central to the experi- 6 ment of the United States in republican self-govern- 7 ment under the Constitution of the United States; 8 (2) government should not be in the business of 9 dictating what ‘‘correct’’ religious beliefs are; and 10 (3) any effort by the government to condition 11 the receipt of the protections of the Constitution of 12 the United States and the laws of the United States, 13 including an exemption from taxation, on the public 14 policy positions of an organization is an affront to 15 the spirit and letter of the First Amendment to the 16 Constitution of the United States. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HJ78.IH HJ78 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS