God and Government Buildings

Public Buildings Used for Worship Services

When the US Treasury Building was constructed in 1800, it was used for church services on Sundays.

The US House of Representatives chamber in the Capitol Building and the original Supreme Court Chamber were also used for church services.

Thomas Jefferson, attended worship services in the House of Representatives regularly when he was President. Remember, it was Thomas Jefferson who penned the words “a wall of separation between Church and State.” Obviously he did not believe that the separation of Church and State prohibited Christian worship in Government buildings.

James Madison, the fourth President of the United States attended the public worship services in the House of Representatives. It was James Madison who added the words of the First Amendment. He did not believe that public worship services in the Capitol Building violated the First Amendment.

Public Buildings Made for Christian Worship

  • West Point Chapel

    The old West Point Chapel building was built in 1836 – just 45 years after the First Amendment was written. The builders of the chapel were just one generation away from the Founding Fathers who wrote and approved the First Amendment. If this was a violation of the First Amendment, the people of that generation would be in a much better position to know than the angry atheists and the anti-God left wing radicals of today.

The Old West Point Chapel as it appeared in 1896.

The current West Point Chapel was built in 1910.
This picture was taken in 1957.

Scriptures and Religious Symbols in Public Buildings

  • The United States Capitol Building

    The picture at the right is a stained glass window in the US Capitol Building. It depicts George Washington in prayer, and the inscription above him reads, “THIS NATION UNDER GOD.” This was the conviction of many of our Founding Fathers. They would not allow the US to create an official “Church of America” like Britain’s “Church of England.” They promoted the reading of the Bible without endorsing any one denomination.

    The picture blow it is a painting of the Baptism of Pocahontas by an Episcopal clergyman. It is on display in the Capitol Building.

  • Supreme Court Building

    Moses is front and center with the Ten Commandments in the front of he building.
    The Ten Commandments are displayed on the wall in the court room

  • Library of Congress

    The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress was built between 1890-97. Everybody knew that including Bible references and references to historical Biblical events was not a violation of the First Amendment. Some of the references include:
    “The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not” (John 1:5)
    “Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7)

    In the Main Reading Room are statues and quotes representing fields of knowledge.
    Moses and Paul represent Religion, with the inscription, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah 6:8)
    Science is represented by, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handywork.” (Psalm 19:1)
    History: “One God, one law, one element, and one far-off divine event, to which the whole creation moves.”