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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1238
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHROER.
5692S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapters 160 and 174, RSMo, by adding thereto two new sections relating to instruction
on the positive impacts of religion on American history.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapters 160 and 174, RSMo, are amended by 1
adding thereto two new sections, to be known as sections 2
160.2510 and 174.805, to read as follows:3
160.2510. 1. As used in this section, "public school" 1
means any school building operated by a school district and 2
any charter school established under sections 160.400 to 3
160.425. 4
2. When providing instruction on the topic of American 5
history, a teacher in a public school shall provide 6
instruction on the positive impacts of religion on American 7
history, which shall include the following historical 8
accounts: 9
(1) The authentic history of the pilgrims, including 10
the following: 11
(a) The organization of the pilgrims as a church; 12
(b) The history of the portrait of the pilgrims 13
displayed in the United States Capitol rotunda, which 14
depicts prayer, an open bible, and the inscription "God with 15
Us" on the sail; 16
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(c) The religious implications of the Mayflower 17
Compact, which was modeled on a church covenant; 18
(d) The treaty with the Native Americans signed and 19
upheld by the pilgrims; and 20
(e) The first Thanksgiving that was observed as an act 21
of gratitude towards God; 22
(2) The appeals to divine power and protection 23
embedded in the Declaration of Independence; 24
(3) The appeal made to the biblical exodus in the 25
fight for independence; 26
(4) The religious background of the signers of the 27
Declaration of Independence; 28
(5) The influence of religious leaders like Reverend 29
John Witherspoon who signed the Declaration of Independence; 30
(6) The impact of the first and second great 31
awakenings on public policy; 32
(7) George Washington's direction regarding chaplains 33
in the army; 34
(8) George Washington's farewell address calling 35
religion and morality "indispensable supports" that lead to 36
political prosperity and their tributes to patriotism "great 37
pillars of human happiness" and the "firmest props of the 38
duties of men and citizens"; 39
(9) Benjamin Franklin's appeal for prayer at the 40
constitutional convention and the hiring of chaplains that 41
followed; 42
(10) The influence of religion on the United States 43
Constitution, as evidenced by the exclusion of Sunday from 44
the allotted time for the president to sign or veto a bill 45
and the dating of the Constitution according to the birth of 46
Christ; 47
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(11) Reverend John Leland's influence that led James 48
Madison to advocate for a bill of rights including the First 49
Amendment to the United States Constitution; 50
(12) The history of the concept of the separation of 51
church and state dating back to its religious origins with 52
Roger Williams; 53
(13) The influence and debates of Reverend John Peter 54
Gabriel Muhlenberg and his brother Reverend Frederick 55
Augustus Muhlenberg, the first Speaker of the United States 56
House of Representatives; 57
(14) The historic role of the black robe regiment; 58
(15) The nation's response to Thomas Paine's "The Age 59
of Reason", including Benjamin Franklin's suggestion that he 60
burn it, the national rejection of it, and multiple 61
responses to it including Elias Boudinot's, "The Age of 62
Revelation"; 63
(16) The role of the Ten Commandments in shaping 64
American law and their presence in art and sculpture 65
embedded in the United States Supreme Court; 66
(17) How religious influence shaped civil rights and 67
the civil rights movement through men like Booker T. 68
Washington, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 69
and others; 70
(18) The impact of religious leaders such as 71
evangelist minister Billy Graham on the culture of this 72
nation; and 73
(19) The history of the national motto "In God We 74
Trust", dating back to the national anthem and traced 75
through its appearance on currency and the inclusion of 76
"under God" in this nation's pledge of allegiance. 77
174.805. When providing instruction on the topic of 1
American history, an instructor at a public institution of 2
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higher education may provide instruction on the positive 3
impacts of religion on American history, which may include 4
the following historical accounts: 5
(1) The authentic history of the pilgrims, including 6
the following: 7
(a) The organization of the pilgrims as a church; 8
(b) The history of the portrait of the pilgrims 9
displayed in the United States Capitol rotunda, which 10
depicts prayer, an open bible, and the inscription "God with 11
Us" on the sail; 12
(c) The religious implications of the Mayflower 13
Compact, which was modeled on a church covenant; 14
(d) The treaty with the Native Americans signed and 15
upheld by the pilgrims; and 16
(e) The first Thanksgiving that was observed as an act 17
of gratitude towards God; 18
(2) The appeals to divine power and protection 19
embedded in the Declaration of Independence; 20
(3) The appeal made to the biblical exodus in the 21
fight for independence; 22
(4) The religious background of the signers of the 23
Declaration of Independence; 24
(5) The influence of religious leaders like Reverend 25
John Witherspoon who signed the Declaration of Independence; 26
(6) The impact of the first and second great 27
awakenings on public policy; 28
(7) George Washington's direction regarding chaplains 29
in the army; 30
(8) George Washington's farewell address calling 31
religion and morality "indispensable supports" that lead to 32
political prosperity and their tributes to patriotism "great 33
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pillars of human happiness" and the "firmest props of the 34
duties of men and citizens"; 35
(9) Benjamin Franklin's appeal for prayer at the 36
constitutional convention and the hiring of chaplains that 37
followed; 38
(10) The influence of religion on the United States 39
Constitution, as evidenced by the exclusion of Sunday from 40
the allotted time for the president to sign or veto a bill 41
and the dating of the Constitution according to the birth of 42
Christ; 43
(11) Reverend John Leland's influence that led James 44
Madison to advocate for a bill of rights including the First 45
Amendment to the United States Constitution; 46
(12) The history of the concept of the separation of 47
church and state dating back to its religious origins with 48
Roger Williams; 49
(13) The influence and debates of Reverend John Peter 50
Gabriel Muhlenberg and his brother Reverend Frederick 51
Augustus Muhlenberg, the first Speaker of the United States 52
House of Representatives; 53
(14) The historic role of the black robe regiment; 54
(15) The nation's response to Thomas Paine's "The Age 55
of Reason", including Benjamin Franklin's suggestion that he 56
burn it, the national rejection of it, and multiple 57
responses to it including Elias Boudinot's, "The Age of 58
Revelation"; 59
(16) The role of the Ten Commandments in shaping 60
American law and their presence in art and sculpture 61
embedded in the United States Supreme Court; 62
(17) How religious influence shaped civil rights and 63
the civil rights movement through men like Booker T. 64
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Washington, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 65
and others; 66
(18) The impact of religious leaders such as 67
evangelist minister Billy Graham on the culture of this 68
nation; and 69
(19) The history of the national motto "In God We 70
Trust", dating back to the national anthem and traced 71
through its appearance on currency and the inclusion of 72
"under God" in this nation's pledge of allegiance. 73
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