Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) spoke on the Senate floor to address the hostility displayed towards people of faith who have come before the Senate during recent confirmation hearings and the duty the Senate has to distance itself from this unconstitutional and un-American behavior of religious intolerance.
The speech reads, in part:
“Our country’s ban on religious tests is a strong bulwark for religious freedom. As an original provision of the Constitution, it predates even the Bill of Rights, and it applies not just to some religious adherents, but to all of them, equally.”
“The secular, progressive creed has proven that it is capable of triumphalism and intolerance, just like the creeds that have gone before it. Not because its adherents are uniquely wicked; to the contrary, because they are human. There is a way out of this vicious cycle of religious intolerance…and that is for all of us to treat one another with civility and respect, while jealously defending the rights of conscience—for ourselves, our neighbors, and all our fellow citizens. For Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, and all others.”
“…at a minimum, this body can do its part by respecting the constitutional rights of citizens who come before it. Lest we forget, we work for them, not the other way around. I trust my colleagues, Republican, Democrat, and independent, will take this to heart.”
Full video and text of the speech can be found here.
