Just a week after the North Dakota Legislature voted down a concurrent resolution that would have “acknowledged the Kingship of Jesus Christ,” Montana’s Legislature is poised to introduce a joint resolution with the same outrageous theocratic language.
The Montana resolution also calls upon the state and its citizens to “acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus Christ.” The Freedom From Religion Foundation strongly condemns this alarming proposal as a blatant violation of the fundamental principle of separation between religion and government and an affront to the constitutional rights of all Montanans.
LC 4329 cites a half dozen bible verses to justify itself, among them:
WHEREAS, the Father is said to give to Christ all nations and the utmost parts of the earth for His inheritance and possession, and, in response, people and their leaders are called to learn and receive instruction from Him (Psalms 2:8, 10), including those in this great state; and WHEREAS, Christ is named the ruler of Kings on earth and the King of Kings and presented with crown and royal robe (Revelation 1:5, 17:14, 19:12-13, 16).
This brazen attempt to inject religious dogma into government is a clear violation of the First Amendment and a dangerous step toward Christian nationalism.
The resolution’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Lukas Schubert, is also co-sponsoring a first-of-its-kind bill that would criminalize women for getting certain out-of-state abortions, accusing them of “trafficking” their own fetuses. House Bill 609 would criminalize anyone who leaves Montana to obtain an abortion that would be illegal within the state or anyone who “aids or assists another person in transporting an unborn child.”
Like the recently rejected North Dakota resolution, the Montana resolution flies in the face of America’s foundational secular principles. The U.S. Constitution mandates the separation of church and state, ensuring that no single religion is elevated above others — and that citizens are free to believe or disbelieve as they like.
“The Founders of our nation, who intentionally adopted a godless and entirely secular Constitution, proudly threw out the king,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “This resolution is profoundly un-American.”
FFRF warns that the Montana resolution, if passed, would further embolden the growing Christian nationalist movement, which is seeking to dismantle the safeguards that keep religion and government separate. The resolution would turn non-Christian citizens, including the nearly one-third of Americans who identify as nonreligious, into second-class citizens.
FFRF calls on Montana lawmakers to reject this dangerous and unconstitutional resolution immediately. Government officials take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution — not the New Testament. FFRF urges citizens of all faiths and none to speak out against this encroachment of religious extremism into our secular government.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 40,000 members nationwide, including members in Montana. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
