Political Quotes

“tomorrow morning, the Senate will vote on a measure which is controversial and has gathered a lot of attention across America. It is an amendment offered by the Senator from Missouri, Mr. Blunt, and it relates to the health services that will be available to people across America and it calls into question an issue which we have debated since the earliest colonists came to this country; that is, the appropriate role of religion and government in America. It is an issue which has been hotly debated and contested in the earliest days of our Nation and was finally resolved by our Constitution in a manner that has served us well for over two centuries. The Constitution speaks to the issue of religion in three specific places. It states in the first amendment that we each have the freedom of religion; that is, the freedom to believe or not to believe. It says there will be no official State religion; whereas, in England they chose the Church of England, but in our government there will be no choice of any religion. Finally, there is a provision which says that there shall be no religious test for office. These are all constitutional provisions which, though sparing in language, have guided us carefully through over 200 years of history. We see around the world where other countries have not been as fortunate to come together in basic principles that have kept a diversity of religious belief alive in the country.…”