Our country was founded on the principle of freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The purpose of the First Amendment was to rule out the establishment of a particular religion and to prohibit government from discriminating against one religion by favoring another.  But it was never intended to mandate that government ban religious expressions or deny the existence of God.

The Defense Authorization bill includes a provision allowing all military chaplains to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s conscience.  This policy will protect and clarify the religious freedom of all military chaplains.  The bill passed the House of Representatives with my strong support by a margin of 396 to 31.

Freedom of religion is a vital right for all Americans, including members of the Armed Services.  This legislation takes the necessary steps to protect and clarify this.