House Committee: More Religion at DC Visitor Center

From AANEWS

 HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES RELIGIOUS SLOGANEERING AT
                CAPITAL VISITOR CENTER

A congressional committee has approved a resolution that would use
public money to have the current national lotto ("In God We Trust")
and the Pledge of Allegiance ("One Nation Under God") included at
the new Capitol Hill Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.

H. Con. Res. 131 directs the Architect of the Capitol to install
the texts, but makes no direct reference to religion.  The motto
and the Pledge, however, have been at the center of lawsuits and
growing controversy, and charges that they promote religious belief.
The current motto was adopted in 1956 when then-President Dwight
Eisenhower signed Public Law 851, replacing the earlier, original
slogan "Out of Many, One" or "E Pluribus Unum."  Christian advocacy
groups had been promoting the religious version since 1861 when
the latter was proposed by Rev. M. R. Watkinson.  In 1864, Congress
enacted legislation that placed "In God We Trust" on the nation's
money.

The religionized Pledge of Allegiance came about in 1954 with the
addition of the words "under God."

Both practices have been challenged unsuccessfully as establishments
of religion by the government.  The sloganeering was part of a
wider effort during the cold war to combat what was perceived as
"godless Communism."  Today, defenders of the religious motto and
pledge describe these practices as instruments which "acknowledge
our nation's religious heritage," or promote public morality.
Critics charge that they place the government in the position of
supporting religious belief, and often sectarian Christianity.

The Resolution was introduced by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.).
"While the Capitol Visitor Center did a good job of incorporating
many elements, I believe there are two important items (that)
were absent -- the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto
'In God We Trust," " Lungren told reporters.  "I am pleased that
this resolution remedies this oversight and incorporates important
parts of our national heritage into the CVC."

Lungren added that his Resolution addresses the concerns of social
and religious conservatives who are "extremely unhappy" that the
Center curator supposedly removed certain language from historical
displays prior to the opening of the $621 million facility.
A supporter of the legislation, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) grumbled
that the Center"generally ignores" the role of religious belief in
the founding of the United States.

"There are a few articles in the CVC that reflect elements of faith,"
said DeMint.  "There are two bibles, a picture of the congressional
nondenominational faith space and the oath of office -- but I
believe they grossly understate the prominent role of faith and
Judeo-Christian values in the history of this great building."

The dispute over the new visitor center has also become a cause
celebre for former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich,
who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the GOP
presidential nomination in 2012.  Traditionally identified as a
social conservative with ties to religious right groups, Gingrich
has become more outspoken in recent months over the need to keep
evangelical extremists in the party ranks.  His book "Rediscovering
God in America" is seen as a part of a larger effort to win
religious-right support.  Rob Boston of Americans United told the
People for the American Way web site: "The idea of Newt Gingrich as
the next leader of the religious right is not as odd as it sounds.
During his tenure as Speaker, Gingrich was known mainly for his
promotion of small government, low taxes, and libertarian ideas,
but a lot has changed since 1999; in recent years, Gingrich has
been stressing religious-right themes."

Boston cited the 2006 publication of Gingrich's book where he
argues that America is a "Christian nation."  Gingrich also told
U.S. News & World Report magazine that he is launching a new effort
to unite evangelical Christians with Roman Catholics to support a
faith-based social agenda.  Gingrich has also been teaming up with
David Barton, a proponent of "Christian America" revisionist history;
many of Barton's claims have been critically panned by researchers
and historians.

One vehicle for Gingrich is his new political committee, "Renewing
American Leadership."  This group has jumped into the fray over the
Congressional Visitors Center with a 23-page report, "Reconstructing
American History" that accuses center officials of "bias" and other
transgressions. The report also charges that the curator of CVC,
the Capitol Preservation Committee and even the House Architect and
staff designed the new visitor center so that it "presents visitors
with a biased, unbalanced, incomplete and in many cases inaccurate
history if America and the Capitol."

One specific target of the group's concern was the original center
presentation of the national motto.  In a display titled "Unity,"
the center noted that "E Pluribus Unum" symbolized: "Out of
many-- one --(and) expresses the ideal of our Union; many states,
one nation. Representing all the states, Congress has promoted
national unity through a process of inquiry, debate, compromise,
and consensus. These documents record the continuing legislative
efforts to meet the broadest needs of the people."

On the Hill, 108 Congressional Representatives joined in a letter
to the Capitol Architect protesting the lack of religious themes
in the current center exhibition space.  One was Rep. Randy Forbes
(R-Va.) who complained to reporters: "Our concern is not just with
the Capitol Visitor Center, but an increasing pattern of attempts
to remove references to our religious heritage from our nation's
capital.  The Capitol Visitor Center is just one example of efforts
to censor God, faith and religion from our historical buildings,
documents and ceremonies."

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