As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. C. R. No. 9

2025-2026

Representatives Click, Newman

A c o n c u r r e n t R E S O L U T I O N

To urge the federal government to repeal the Johnson Amendment and to name this resolution the Leland Muhlenberg Resolution.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO (THE SENATE CONCURRING):

WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress quickly adopted an unvetted amendment in the Senate commonly known as the "Johnson Amendment" in 1954; and

WHEREAS, This Senate amendment was targeted at nonprofit organizations other than churches that were the political rivals of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson; and

WHEREAS, Senator Johnson never intended to infringe on the free speech of churches, synagogues, mosques, or other religious organizations; and

WHEREAS, George W. Ranck documented the plight of pastors and churches who fled from Virginia to Tennessee via Daniel Boone's Wilderness Trail in search of religious freedom in "The Travelling Church"; and

WHEREAS, Churches are tax immune in order to protect the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion; and

WHEREAS, Many churches have chosen to register as 501(c)(3) organizations for convenience; and

WHEREAS, The application of the Johnson Amendment to churches violates the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The ability to tax religious speech is the power to regulate speech and religion, thereby infringing on the First Amendment; and

WHEREAS, That thousands of pastors have self-reported violations of the Johnson Amendment to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) without consequence validates the constitutional fragility of the amendment; and

WHEREAS, The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. inaugurated the civil rights movement in the basement of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, The presence of this unconstitutional language in the United States Code enables opponents of the church to threaten and intimidate religious bodies who chose to speak on contemporary issues; and

WHEREAS, Lengthy and costly litigation may ensue, disenfranchising churches and other religious bodies of either their free speech or their scarce financial resources; and

WHEREAS, This unconstitutional prohibition sends a mixed message to society on the role of religion in advocating for good governance; and

WHEREAS, The church was instrumental in guiding the conversations that lead to founding documents such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, A study by Donald S. Lutz demonstrates that the Scriptures were the most commonly referenced documents by the founding fathers followed by the writings of other Christian men such as Montesquieu, Blackstone, and Locke; and

WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin called for prayer at the Constitutional Convention citing no less than fourteen passages of Scripture extemporaneously noting that the longer he has lived the more convincing proofs he sees that God intervenes in the affairs of men; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Paine appealed to Scripture in the pamphlet "Common Sense," which roused the nation to the call for independence; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Jacob Duche led the first Congress in such a powerful prayer and Scripture reading from Psalm 35 that John Adams was compelled to write to his wife, Abigail, "I never saw a greater Effect upon an Audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that Morning."; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has appointed chaplains for the House of Representatives and Senate from the very first Congress beginning in 1789; and

WHEREAS, George Washington stated in his farewell address that religion and morality were indispensable supports of patriotism and that in vain would a man claim the tribute of patriotism who would seek to subvert them; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson responded to the fears of the Danbury Baptist Association that government might regulate their speech, stating that, "religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State"; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin proposed a depiction of Moses leading the children of Israel across the Red Sea as the seal of the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, Our national motto was first found in the fourth stanza of the Battle of Fort McHenry by Francis Scott Key and is now nationally recognized as our National Anthem; and

WHEREAS, Our currency bears the motto "In God We Trust"; and

WHEREAS, The hymn, "God of our Fathers," was selected as our National Hymn on the 100th Anniversary of the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln appealed to the Scriptures in his second inaugural address; and

WHEREAS, The Statue of John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg stands in the United States Capitol demonstrating the power of the pulpit in the fight against tyranny and for freedom; and

WHEREAS, Pastor John Leland persuaded James Madison to advocate for a Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, Pastor Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg was persuaded to join his brother after watching churches suffer tyranny and abuse; and

WHEREAS, Both Pastor Muhlenberg and his brother were elected to the first Congress; and

WHEREAS, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg was chosen as the first Speaker of the House; and

WHEREAS, Pastor and Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg's signature adorns the Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, The motto of the State of Ohio is, "With God, All Things Are Possible"; and

WHEREAS, The preamble to the Ohio Constitution states "We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare,"; and

WHEREAS, Article I, Section 7 of the Ohio Constitution states that "no preference shall be given, by law, to any religious society; nor shall any interference with the rights of conscience be permitted."; and

WHEREAS, The Declaration of Independence states that we are endowed with our rights not by government but by our Creator; and

WHEREAS, The Declaration of Independence defines the purpose of government, stating, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,"; and

WHEREAS, The Bill of Rights prohibits the language found in the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits the free exercise of religion by establishing what churches may and may not do; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 136th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, urge President Donald J. Trump, Vice-President and Senate President J.D. Vance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael Johnson, and the United States Congress to repeal the Johnson Amendment, thus conforming the United States Code to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights amended into the United States Constitution on December 15, 1791; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this resolution shall be named the Leland Muhlenberg Resolution after the historic pastors without whom this nation would not have secured a place in history as the world leaders in freedom and liberty; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio.