NASHVILLE, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following are the
prepared remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the meeting of
the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention:
Good afternoon. Thank you Doctor Chapman.
Most Americans believe in God.
And so they naturally understand and accept the limitations and
imperfections that are a part of being human.
Perhaps because of our frailties, most of us yearn for heroes, we are
attracted to and inspired by leaders who perform extraordinary deeds or at
least inspire others in worthy causes. I believe this is why many Americans
share a natural curiosity -- a fascination -- about the President of the
United States, the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. There
may be some here who know the President as well or better than I do, but
for those who do not, let me just say that there are very few individuals
as strong in their faith as George W. Bush.
He is by nature, an optimist, who sees the best in people and who
believes in the goodness of men and women to step forward and help their
neighbor.
He does the very best that he can in using the majestic power of the
Presidency to inspire, to lead ... to do. But he also knows that the power
of the Presidency is not perfect ... that there are limits in his authority
to lift up his neighbor, to fight injustice, to secure the dreams of the
children of this world. In two years President Bush will probably retire to
his ranch in Texas secure in the knowledge that he did his best during
extraordinarily difficult times. And I know that his strong faith in God
will sustain him during the next chapter of life, like it has over the past
six years.
Those of us in this Administration have confronted many decisions that
have tested our faith. It is easy to sit in the sterile environment of a
classroom, with the benefit of hindsight, and second-guess a decision made
in the belief it was necessary to protect America. It is harder to actually
make that decision as an initial matter, in real time, with American lives
at stake. In such moments you have to believe in what you are doing, you
must have courage, you must have faith.
It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here with you, among men and women
of faith, who are guided by Scripture, as it says: "Let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your
Father who is in heaven."
Your good works are indeed a tremendous benefit to our society and our
Nation, and for that I want to thank you. And you have worked tirelessly to
secure religious liberty in the United States and throughout the world.
I am pleased to visit with you today; to tell you a little about some
of what we've been doing at the Department. Because sometimes, in the noise
and clamor of Washington and the media, some of our most important work can
go unnoticed; and it shouldn't.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, our number one
priority has been to do all we can to prevent another attack on America. It
is an important job, and it is one I take very seriously. But it is not our
only job. I am charged by the President with protecting and preserving
not only the safety and security of all Americans, but also their rights,
liberties and freedoms.
September 11th gave all of us -- especially those of us in public
service -- a common purpose. Since the first plane crashed into the North
Tower, we have struggled with an enemy of violent extremists; an enemy that
is unafraid to use terror to try to intimidate and threaten the United
States. I do not believe they intended merely to kill Americans that day. I
believe they also intended to kill our spirit; to change the story of
America from one of hope to one of fear ... from one of openness to one of
suspicion ... from one of faith to one of despair.
Like all Americans, I cherish our civil liberties. They are at the very
heart of what it means to live in freedom. I am committed to preserving
them in everything we do at the Department of Justice.
One of our most cherished freedoms -- one we've sacrificed greatly to
defend -- is our religious liberty.
Nothing defines us more as a Nation -- and differentiates us more from
the extremists who are our enemies -- than our respect for religious
freedom.
Our great country was founded on these principles, and many of us today
believe it continues to thrive because of, not despite, them.
So I would like to talk with you today about what the Department of
Justice has done to protect religious freedom and religious liberty, and
what we will be doing in the future. And I'm going to ask for your help as
well, because while I am proud of all we have accomplished, I know that
there is more to be done.
Today we are releasing our Report on Laws Protecting Religious Freedom,
for Fiscal Years 2001 to 2006. This document describes the importance of
religious freedom historically in our country and the role assigned to the
Department of Justice to protect it.
When we talk about religious freedom, we often refer to it as the First
Freedom. It is a fundamental part of our Nation's history, and one of our
core principles. In the First Amendment to the Constitution, at the top of
the Bill of Rights, the Founders declared that "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof." Before free speech, before freedom of the press, before all of
these other crucial rights, we put freedom of religion.
This area of law has not always been given sufficient attention by the
federal government, but from its earliest days this administration has
worked to increase enforcement of religious freedom laws, including those
against religious discrimination. I am very proud of the report we're
releasing today, because it describes a legacy of protection unequaled
since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Religious liberty is not confined to the members of one church, or the
followers of one set of beliefs. It is a universal right that applies to
people of all faiths.
The Justice Department takes seriously the protection of this right for
all people. So when a city-run senior center in Balch Springs, Texas, told
Barney Clark and other members that they could no longer pray before meals,
sing Gospel songs, or hold Bible studies, we opened an investigation. Even
though each of those activities was voluntary and initiated by the seniors,
and no employee of the center was involved, the city mistakenly believed
that the separation of church and state required it to ban the activities.
In our view, the center's prohibition on religious speech, while
permitting members to engage in other kinds of speech, was a clear
violation of the Constitution. And after we began our investigation, the
Balch Springs City Council unanimously agreed.
I'm proud of that case, and I am equally proud that we stood in defense
of Nashala Hearn, a Muslim girl in the sixth grade in Muskogee, Oklahoma,
whose school told her that she could not wear a headscarf required by her
faith. Though other students were permitted to wear head coverings for
non-religious purposes, Nashala was suspended twice for wearing her
headscarf. That's a difficult position for a young student to be in, facing
down her school principal and administration. I don't know how I would have
reacted when I was in sixth grade. But Nashala stood up for herself, and
she had the Department of Justice to back her up.
Much of the work we have done in this area involves not just religious
practice, but religious expression in the schools. In one case, we filed a
friend of the court brief in a case involving the Frenchtown, New Jersey,
school district. The town's elementary school held a talent show, dubbed
"Frenchtown Idol," consisting of songs, skits, and other performances by
students. Each student was free to choose his or her own act, subject to a
few basic guidelines barring profanity, weapons, alcohol, or drugs.
However, when one girl chose to sing a Christian song, "Awesome God," she
was told that it was inappropriate because of its religious content.
Last December, the U.S. District Court agreed with our position that
this was not a simple case of a school exercising control over its
curriculum -- it was an unlawful restriction on individual student speech
in an activity designed for student expression. The court found that
Frenchtown Idol was not part of the school curriculum, but was, instead, a
voluntary after-school event in which students were invited -- not required
-- to participate.
The school had attempted to censor the girl's song choice because they
felt it was a "proselytizing song" that "commanded the listener to adhere
to the singer's beliefs." The court pointed out that many songs encourage
someone to believe something, noting that school officials had admitted
that students could sing songs that espouse a belief that it is important
to take care of the earth, to help poor people, and to lean on friends when
they experience hardships. In light of the fact that secular
"proselytizing" through songs would be permitted, the court ruled that the
school could not discriminate against religious songs that did the same
thing.
In each of these cases, and in dozens of others like them, we argued
that students, seniors...all citizens ... should not be forced to check
their religion at the door. It is irrelevant what that religion is; what
matters is the right to practice it.
The Department of Justice has actively pursued cases involving religion
not just in access to education and public facilities, but in equal access
to housing, lending, and employment as well. Over the past six years, we
have had many successes. We've launched scores of investigations involving
religious discrimination in education and housing, a sharp and marked
increase in the Justice Department's enforcement of these important federal
protections. We have fought to maintain and make clear the crucial
distinction between improper government speech endorsing religion and
constitutionally protected private speech endorsing religion.
Why should it be permissible for an employee standing around the water
cooler to declare that 'Tiger Woods is God,' but a firing offense for him
to say 'Jesus is Lord'? These are the kinds of contradictions we are trying
to address.
In doing so, we have enforced the laws on the books, and we have
supported new laws to strengthen religious freedoms.
For example, I don't have to tell you that free exercise of religion is
more than just the right to a personal faith. It is also the right to
assemble as a church-to gather together to worship as a community of the
faithful.
But it is not uncommon for houses of worship to face discrimination
from local zoning authorities, who would impose restrictions on the use of
their land.
Local laws sometimes exclude religious assemblies while permitting
other, secular gatherings in the same spot. They may restrict the ability
of churches to build religious schools or expand houses of worship on their
property, or force those churches to go through a more burdensome approval
process than other non-religious groups.
In response, Congress unanimously enacted the Religious Land Use and
Institutionalized Persons Act, and authorized the Department of Justice to
bring suits to enforce it. Since 2001 we have reviewed more than a hundred
matters under this act and, in the process, we have made great progress in
educating towns and cities about these kinds of subtle, but pervasive,
forms of religious discrimination.
In one case, we launched an investigation involving the Beaver Assembly
of God in Brighton Township, Pennsylvania. When the Assembly of God wanted
to expand its church building, which it had outgrown, its zoning
application was rejected because it had only three-and-a-quarter acres of
land and the
Brighton zoning code required houses of worship to have a minimum lot
size of five acres. The same zoning code, however, included no such minimum
acreage requirement for non-religious uses such as fraternal organizations,
assembly halls, and even adult movie theaters and cabarets.
Following a lawsuit by the church and the launch of our investigation,
the township amended its zoning ordinance to eliminate the five acre
requirement. That's an important signal to other communities to take a
close look at their rules and make sure they are complying with the law.
And by publicizing these cases, and letting people know we take religious
freedom seriously, we can magnify the effect of one investigation a
hundredfold.
We also are charged under the Civil Rights Act to protect against
discrimination in public and private employment. Included in this, of
course, is the requirement that employers make an effort to accommodate the
religious practices of their employees. And it also embraces the premise
that people deserve to be hired or not hired based on their qualifications,
not on their faith.
When the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority refused to accept
applications for bus driver positions unless the applicant indicated that
he or she was available to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we filed
suit, arguing that the policy discriminated against Sabbath-observant
Christians and Jews. The MTA agreed to change its application policy and to
allow drivers to swap assignments with other drivers.
We weren't asking for anything extraordinary, just the kind of
reasonable accommodation of religious belief and practice that the law
requires.
Not every religious freedom case is about willful intolerance.
Sometimes it's a well-meaning city employee or school system that wants to
do the right thing, but is afraid. Sometimes it's a person of faith who is
so scared of offending anyone that he will err on the side of caution and
ban anything that might be considered religious. And in those cases the
Department of Justice seeks to gently correct the situation; to steer
everybody back to a proper balance of the civil liberties of all citizens.
But sometimes it's about a flat-out bully. A person so filled with hate
and intolerance that he will kill to impose his views on others. We see
that in the terrorists who would turn the clock back 1400 years in the name
of God. And I am afraid that sometimes we see it among our fellow
Americans.
We have seen too many churches burned, too many rocks thrown through
stained-glass windows, too many swastikas painted on sanctuary walls, too
many lives taken. There are fewer of these attacks today, but still too
many.
And when faced with that kind of assault, the Department of Justice has
responded, and will always respond, with force and conviction.
As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and preserve religious
liberty in this country, I am unveiling today a new initiative: the First
Freedom Project. Under this program, the Department will build on our
extensive record of achievement in this area and commit to even greater
enforcement of religious rights for all Americans.
* We are creating a Department-wide Religious Freedom Task Force,
chaired by the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, to review
policies and cases to ensure that religious freedom is being protected.
* We are initiating a program of public education, to make certain that
people know their rights, and to build relationships with religious, civil
rights, and community leaders to ensure that religious liberty concerns are
brought to our attention.
* We will hold a series of regional training seminars for these and
other leaders interested in religious liberty. The first will be in Kansas
City, Missouri, on March 29, followed by events in Tampa in April, Seattle
in May, and others to be announced later.
* We have launched a new website, firstfreedom.gov, with information on
the laws we enforce and how to file a complaint.
* And we will be distributing informational literature to religious
organizations, civil rights groups, and community leaders on how to file a
complaint.
President Bush declared his commitment to this issue last year by
saying: "We reject religious discrimination in every form, and we continue
our efforts to oppose prejudice and to counter any infringements on
religious freedom."
As an important part of our efforts, in 2002 the Department of Justice
created the position of Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination. This
person, Eric Treene, who is with me here today, is charged with enforcing
our civil rights laws as they relate to religious liberties. Get to know
Eric; he will be your contact on this important new initiative and on all
of our efforts in this area.
And make no mistake, I am here to ask the Southern Baptist Convention,
and all of you in this room, for your help. The Department of Justice has
many tools to protect religious freedoms in this country, and we are using
them. But even with all of our passion and our dedication to this cause, we
cannot do it alone.
I want you to go back to your communities and help us spread the word
about the Department's religious liberty efforts. Visit the website, read
the report, learn about what we've been doing, and tell your neighbors.
Education and awareness are among our most powerful weapons in combating
discrimination. I truly believe that the cases we investigate are often a
matter of a misunderstanding of the law, not an intentional violation of
it.
If you hear of a situation that you think might be a violation of
federal civil rights laws, I want you to contact us so that we can look
into it.
I want your input and your ideas about the issues our Religious
Liberties Task Force should address. The goal of this task force is a
serious one, and I want it to act as a substantive review of where we stand
and where we may need to focus more attention.
And, finally, I want to encourage you to attend one of our regional
training seminars, and I want you to encourage others to attend as well.
These will be valuable educational opportunities for us and for all of our
partners.
You know, and I know, that this great Nation of ours is the most
diverse and tolerant in the history of the world. We have an unrestrained
confidence in the promise of man, strengthened by our trust in a higher
power.
Our Founders were men of faith. They understood that, even before their
time, this land was settled by pilgrims seeking religious freedom. They
understood the importance of a government that respected and protected the
"First Freedom." As James Madison wrote in his Memorial and Remonstrance
Against Religious Assessments: "The Religion then of every man must be left
to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every
man to exercise it as these may dictate."
I am proud to be a part of an administration, and a Department of
Justice, that understands and takes seriously this heritage. And I am so
very glad to be here among men and women who understand and share our
commitment.
I do not often talk publicly about my faith ... but it is important to
me ... it is part of who I am as a person. Many here have reached an age
when you think about your own mortality more and more. I for one believe I
will be held to account for my life. Was I the best husband I could be? The
best father? The best neighbor? The best public servant? Did I make a
positive difference in the lives of others ... did I truly live a life
worth living? Ultimately God will be the judge and history will tell the
story. Whatever the final outcome, I will do my best to work with you and
other people of faith to protect our religious freedoms.
And if you leave here today with nothing else, I want you to take with
you the story of young Nashala Hearn, who knew that she shouldn't have to
choose between her education and her faith. If you know of any Nashalas out
there, who find themselves facing down religious intolerance, and who think
they're all alone in their fight ... you tell them to come talk to me.
Thank you again for your good work. May God bless you all, may He
continue to guide and watch over you, and may He continue to bless the
United States of America.
Contact: U.S. Department of Justice (202) 514-2008, TDD (202) 514-1888
Web site: http://www.USDOJ.GOV
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
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Related links:
http://www.USDOJ.gov
CONTACT:
U.S. Department of Justice, 202-514-2008,
TDD, 202-514-1888
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