Rep. Mark Harris: The Faith That Made America Free

As America approaches her 250th birthday, we will look back to Philadelphia; to the signing of the Declaration of Independence; and to the courage of the men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of liberty.

The declaration was not written merely in rejection of England’s rule. It was rooted in the belief that there are certain freedoms no government can take away.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” the declaration begins, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

Those words changed the course of human history. They declared that rights do not come from kings, courts, legislatures, or presidents. They come from God.

From the beginning, America’s founding promise has meant that we are not subjects of a ruler. We are made in the image of God, entrusted with the responsibility of self-government, and protected by a system designed to secure the freedoms God has given.

Our Founders understood that a republic could not survive by structure alone. Our Constitution, laws, elections, and courts are essential, but they cannot preserve liberty if the people lose the moral foundation that freedom requires.

George Washington carried that belief into the life of the new republic. He led the Continental Army through the Revolutionary War, watched a fragile nation take shape, and later became our first president.

In his 1796 Farewell Address, Washington warned that “religion and morality” are “indispensable supports” of political prosperity. He understood that America’s future would depend on more than words on paper.

A republic can have the best Constitution in the world, but if its people lose the ability to tell right from wrong, liberty will not hold. Laws can order a nation, but only conscience and character sustain it.

That is why faith has been woven so deeply into the American story—and why it mattered most when America was tested.

When Abraham Lincoln stood at Gettysburg in the midst of a Civil War that had torn the nation apart, he called Americans to the hope that this nation, “under God,” would have a new birth of freedom. Lincoln understood that America’s answer to its failures was not to turn away from the declaration, but to live more faithfully by it. 

That does not mean America has always measured up to that calling. We have not. No nation made up of imperfect people ever will. Our history includes sin and division, and every generation has had to decide whether we would live according to what we claim to believe. 

Across our country, many Americans feel the ground beneath them shifting. Parents are trying to raise their children in the Word of God in a culture that often pulls them in the other direction. Too many people are lonely, anxious, and searching for meaning in places that cannot satisfy. Churches that have long served as anchors in their communities are too often treated as afterthoughts, as though faith belongs on the sidelines of American life. 

At the same time, the government is increasingly asked to fill roles it was never designed to fill. But Washington cannot replace the family or the church. It cannot form the conscience of a child, heal a broken home, or teach people to love their neighbors. 

In this moment, America does not need less faith. We need a renewal of faith.

Before I ever came to Congress, God called me to be a pastor. That calling still shapes the way I see this country, this office, and the people I serve. My faith is not something I leave at the church door or outside the Capitol. It keeps me grounded, humble, and accountable in a place like Washington, where it is easy to lose sight of the people you came to serve.

It also reminds me that the strength of America is not found first in the halls of Congress. It is found in the homes where parents pray over their children, in the churches that serve their communities, in the farms and small businesses where people work hard without asking for much in return, and in the neighbors who show up when someone is in need. 

That is the America I know best. And that is the America we must preserve.

As we celebrate 250 years of American independence, we should give thanks for the Founders who risked everything, for the generations who defended liberty, and for the communities that carried faith from one generation to the next. 

But gratitude alone is not enough. America’s future will not be secured by mere memory. If America is to endure for another 250 years, we Americans must remain united around what made her worth founding. Our rights come from God, our Constitution protects them, and faith helps form the people who can keep a republic free. That is what makes us truly one nation under God. 

The Founders gave us a republic. Generations before us preserved it. Now it is our turn to pass it on.

May we be found faithful.

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