Walter B. Jones: “people throughout this Nation are being denied a fundamental right, the right to freely express their religious beliefs.…”

“people throughout this Nation are being denied a fundamental right, the right to freely express their religious beliefs. It is a shame that I have reason to make that statement here in the United States in the year 1998, but it is a sad fact. Please allow me to list a few examples. One example, a judge ruled in favor of a teacher who gave a young Tennessee student an F on a research paper, simply because she decided to write the paper about Jesus. On three separate occasions, St. Louis school system officials put a fourth grade student in detention for bowing his head to say a private prayer over lunch. Mr. Speaker, students from schools across the country have been prohibited from bringing the best-selling book in America to school, the Bible. At the same time, the Justice Department reports that 100,000 young people bring guns to school every day. It is a sad commentary on our Nation to say that our schools are safer from religion than they are from illegal drugs. Mr. Speaker, this country was built upon Judeo-Christian values. I believe we are in real trouble now that we have reached a time when, sadly, those values are being attacked and not protected. Every American, our children in their formative years especially, should be allowed to freely explore and express their religious beliefs that include voluntary school prayer.”