A resolution designating the first week of every May as “America’s Spiritual Heritage Week” was introduced in the federal Congress last week, by a bipartisan group of legislators.
“There is carved in stone above the Speaker’s rostrum in the House of Representatives across the street, ‘In God We Trust,’” said Rep. Doug Lamborn said. “That’s not just a slogan. That’s the embodiment of what’s made our country great.”
H. Res. 397 documents 72 distinct ways that religion has formed the foundation of American government and liberty, stretching back 235 years. It’s a history lesson that representatives want to recognize every year.
Their resolution “affirms the rich spiritual and diverse religious history of our Nation’s founding and subsequent history, including up to the current day.”
Rep. James Forbes introduced the bill, which had 36 cosponsors earlier this week. He chairs the bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus.
The Caucus meets weekly for prayer and it came up with the resolution idea, according to Rep. Mike McIntyre. “We meet right off the House floor to pray for wisdom,” he said.
“As we realized more and more the great spiritual heritage that this country has that surrounds us in the buildings and the monument, we think it’s high time that we affirm the great spiritual heritage of our nation,” he said.
H. Res. 397 is packed with commonly known religious stories — and with a heritage that many Americans may not know about.
During the Jefferson administration, for example, people had the option of attending church in the Capitol Building, the War Department building, or the Treasury Department building.
The resolution says, “By 1867, the church at the Capitol was the largest church in Washington, DC, with up to 2,000 people a week attending Sunday service in the Hall of the House.”
H. Res. 397 also quotes President John F. Kennedy on the nation’s religious heritage. Kennedy said, “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”
America’s Spiritual Heritage Week, if passed, would coincide with the National Day of Prayer each year. It is currently in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Read the language of H. Res. 397
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