Session #99 · 1985–87

Speech #990000429

It would restore the right to pray voluntarily in the public schoolsa right which was freely exercised under our Constitution until the 1960s. when the Supreme Court ruled to the contrary. Until the Engel and Abington School District decisions. the establishment clause of the first amendment was generally understood only to prohibit the Federal Government from officially approving. or holding in special favor. any particular religious faith or denomination. In crafting that clause. our Founding Fathers sought to prevent what had originally caused many colonial Americans to emigrate to this countryan official. state religion. At the same time. they sought. through the free exercise clause. to guarantee to all Americans the freedom to worship God without Government interference or restraint. In their wisdom. they recognized that true religious liberty precludes the Government from both forcing and preventing worship.
Keywords matched
emigrate

Classification

Target group
Sentiment
Neutral
Stereotyping
No
Confidence
60%
Model
gemini-2.0-flash
Framing
Legal / procedural

Speaker & context

Speaker
J. THURMOND
Party
R
Chamber
S
State
SC
Gender
M
Date
1985-01-03
Speech ID
990000429
Paragraph
#0
← Prev Next →