FAITH MONTH
Congressional Record Vol. 170, No. 68
(Senate - April 18, 2024) PDF
Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, Americans across the country,
led by Concerned Women for America, CWA--the Nation's largest public
policy organization for women--and other faith-based organizations will
again celebrate April as Faith Month. I commend this noble effort
calling on all people of faith to join in prayer, to give thanks, and
to celebrate their faith.
Faith is at the very core of who we are as Americans. Every nation
before us was based on either a shared ethnicity, a common language, or
a unifying monarch. But the United States of America was the first
nation in history founded on the belief that every human being has
inherent value and natural rights granted to them not by any earthly
government, but by an all-powerful God. In the words of our
Declaration, we are "endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable
Rights," based on "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God,"
acknowledging our "reliance on the protection of divine Providence."
Many of our Nation's earliest settlers were people of faith, seeking
a land in which they could freely practice their beliefs. The Puritans
of New England, the Pennsylvania Quakers, and the Catholic founders of
the Maryland Colony were all men and women who came to these shores in
search of a haven for religious freedom. The Founding Fathers after
them carried on that faithful torch by enshrining that freedom of
religion in the very First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well
as "the free exercise thereof." They knew that a nation founded on
the belief in a higher power must encourage a faithful population.
When religious freedom is protected, communities thrive. Ample
research shows that faith strengthens the family unit, promotes stable
marriages, and discourages drug abuse and violence. Regular church
attendance is linked to lifting young people in inner cities out of
poverty, and faithful people tend to be happier and more satisfied in
life.
The role of religious organizations in America is invaluable. An
estimated 350,000 religious congregations operate schools, pregnancy
resource centers, soup kitchens, drug addiction programs, homeless
shelters, and adoption agencies throughout the Nation, with more than
2,600 of them in my state of Mississippi alone. These organizations
selflessly care for their communities and deserve to be celebrated and
uplifted for the work that they do.
Today, it is distressing that attacks against particular faith
communities have become all too common. Individuals and charities alike
have been forced to compromise their sincerely held beliefs to keep
their jobs or participate in certain government programs. Worse, some
Federal Agencies are promoting policies and regulations that make it
harder for faith-based charities and social service organizations to
care for the need.
It is a sad fact that, today, too many people of faith feel unsafe on
their college campuses, in their workplaces, or where they worship as
attacks against their communities rise. No religious American should be
afraid to openly practice their faith in the land of the free. It is
imperative that the American Government clearly state that such
discriminatory actions and hateful attacks are intolerable and that
they must be met with speech that unwaveringly speaks the truth and
calls out evil for what it is. Attacks against faith, against the
freedom of conscience, undermine the very foundation of America.
In a 2023 Gallup Poll, nearly three out of four Americans said they
practice some kind of religious faith. This rich, diverse religious
heritage is to our credit and should be encouraged. This Faith Month, I
join millions of Americans in honoring the right to worship freely and
openly, with public displays and celebrations, unashamed to share in
our common American heritage as a people of faith. In this manner, we
reaffirm our commitment to the religious liberty principles of our
founding.