Indiana resolution declares "unified" allegiance to "the Lord, Jesus Christ"
House Resolution 53 revives the myth of a Christian Nation—at the expense of everyone else
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When Oklahoma passed its “Christ is King” resolution last week, the text made clear it was doing so to recognize “the spiritual significance of this declaration to many of its citizens.”
“Many.” Not all. Just “many.”
Somehow, even that performative bit of nuance was lost in a copycat resolution that was recently proposed in Indiana. House Resolution 53, officially meant to recognize “the importance of repentance,” goes all out in declaring that every member of State House “acknowledges the need for divine providence, choosing to humbly submit its ways to the Lord, Jesus Christ.”
In case you think there’s room for dissent, the very next line says the House is “unified in its steadfast commitment” to “returning to God and upholding the biblical principles set forth in the word of God.”
(The irony shouldn’t be lost on anyone that this resolution, even if it passes, will not get unanimous support.)
Somehow, that isn’t even the worst of this resolution, which was sponsored by Republican Rep. Joanna King and co-authored by 21 of her colleagues. (One of them is a Democrat: Rep. John Bartlett.)
The “whereas” clauses leading up to the meat of the resolution reaffirm a fake version of American history in which the Founding Fathers all shared the same Christian beliefs.
Whereas, These Founders, relying on biblical principles as the moral authority to guide their character, upheld a standard for the common good of all;
Whereas, The Founders did not seek to establish a government based on human wisdom alone but on the "laws of nature and of nature's God," acknowledging that liberty and justice for all must be rooted in truth if it is to be sustained;
That phrase from the Declaration of Independence is hardly an endorsement of Christianity. Thomas Jefferson was, after all, a Deist who didn’t believe in biblical miracles, and those words were written long before the theory of evolution offered a plausible alternative to religion. But the Indiana lawmakers want to make the leap from a casual mention of God to a very explicit endorsement of their particular noxious brand of Christianity.
While the resolution is purely symbolic, the message it’s sending goes against the spirit of both state and federal laws:
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution specifically bars legislators from passing any law "respecting an establishment of religion." Indiana's own constitution follows suit.
"No preference shall be given, by law, to any creed, religious society, or mode of worship," Article 1, Section 4 reads in part.
In this case it's not a law, but a resolution, which wouldn't carry the same weight. Resolutions are largely symbolic and don't alter existing code.
Kylie Glatfelter, a spokeswoman for King, said she'd pass on questions from the Courier & Press. As of Thursday morning, she hadn't responded.
…
"Rep. King is sending a clear message to her non-Christian constituents that she does not see them as full Americans," [Ryan Jayne, senior policy counsel for the Freedom From Religion Action Fund,] said. "This is Christian nationalism, and it runs counter to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Constitution."
Jayne also zeroed in the resolution's invocation of the Founding Fathers, which he said "perpetuates the myth that the United States was founded as a Christian nation."
The point is clear: This isn’t just a thoughtless resolution. It’s deeply un-American.
None of this is surprising coming from King. She’s one of the most transphobic members of the legislature and introduced a bill to allow children as young as 14 to drop out of school to work full-time on farms. She also supported a bill to end same-sex marriage. Cruelty and bigotry define her career. Promoting Christianity is a natural next step, then, for Republicans like her.
For now, this resolution is in the hands of the Committee on Courts and Criminal Code and no further actions have been taken on it.
The words Jesus, Christianity and Bible are no where to be found in the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence is not law. Article VI of our foundational document specifically bans religious tests for holding office in the United States. Article VI predates the Bill of Rights, and that speaks directly to how the framers of the Constitution felt about the issue. Americans enjoy as much religious freedom as can be found on earth, and yet being free to worship as they choose is not enough for conservative Christians. They never stop trying to write their sense of privilege into law and force their supernatural delusions on everyone.
It was bad enough when Oklahoma decided to declare that Christ is King. Now the Alabama of the North has decided to follow suit, following the same skewed logic and other lack of respect for State / Church separation. As with the Sooner State, Indiana legislators clearly need to be reminded of The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and the secular nature of their government.
In a wider sense, this really shows the level of desperation that some Christians are having an attempting to superimpose their beliefs on to the government. This wants attention, and a lot of it.