Forbes resolution would recognize national role of religion

As U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes tries again to get Congress to approve a resolution affirming the country’s “rich spiritual and religious history,” he’s taking issue with President Barack Obama’s recent comments on religion and politics.

During a visit to Turkey last month, Obama said, “One of the great strengths of the United States is, although I have mentioned we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

That’s just incorrect, Forbes said Wednesday.

The Chesapeake Republican’s resolution cites dozens of historical references to the importance of religion, including a handful referring specifically to the Christian faith, which he said demonstrate the deep involvement of religion in public life.

The examples include quotes from past presidents, congressional actions, comments by the Founding Fathers, and inscriptions chiseled on public monuments. Among them are the placement of “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency, adding “one nation under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, and an 1800 law that required Navy ships to conduct twice-daily prayer services.

Forbes wants to establish the first week of May as America’s Spiritual Heritage Week to mark the involvement of religion in “official American life.” He and other sponsors of the resolution will hold a news conference in Washington today , the National Day of Prayer, to publicize the effort.

An identical resolution, introduced by Forbes last year, died in a congressional committee. This year’s measure, HR397, is co-sponsored by 24 other legislators, but it has drawn criticism from opponents who say it is revisionist history because it doesn’t include historical information that would contradict Forbes’ views.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said Forbes’ proposal “is not a fair or accurate representation of what religious liberty has meant in this country.”

“This is done solely to score political points now and in the event it ever comes up for a vote, to chastise as non-religious those who don’t vote for it,’’ Lynn said.

Forbes said some people may not like the idea that the nation is rooted in Judeo-Christian religious principles, but they can’t change that history.

“It is those very Judeo-Christian principles that protect everybody’s rights,” he said.

Forbes contends that some who deny the religious heritage are deliberately trying to remove religious references. His resolution calls for Congress to “reject in the strongest possible terms any effort to remove, obscure or purposely omit such history from our nation’s buildings and educational resources.”

The Rev. Geoffrey V. Guns, pastor of Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, said the nation may have been founded on those principles but the country has changed. He laments that Americans today are more concerned with their financial statements than religion.

Guns said he does not believe that removing religious references from monuments or in government would hurt people of faith.

“I don’t think these things impact who they are or what they practice. They will continue to practice their faith,” he said.

“I would have a little concern with someone who would want to legislate that America is a religious nation,” Guns said. “Then you have to say, 'Whose religion?’ and, 'Who is religious?’”

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com