South Carolina H 4568: Grateful to God for our Liberties

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4568 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4568

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A house RESOLUTION

to officially acknowledge that 
Jesus Christ is Lord and King of all nations and declare this truth as the 
essential limit upon human power and thus the foundation of our republican form 
of government.

Whereas, the South Carolina Constitution presently acknowledges God 
as the giver of liberty, with the words in our preamble, "We, the people of the 
State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled, grateful to God for our 
liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the preservation and 
perpetuation of the same"; and

Whereas, the South Carolina Constitution of 1778 in Articles III and 
XXXVIII affirmed five vital truths as undergirding the proper execution of the 
laws:

 (1) that there is one 
eternal God, and a future state of rewards and punishments.

 (2) that God is 
publicly to be worshipped.

 (3) that the 
Christian religion is the true religion.

 (4) that the holy 
scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are of divine inspiration, and are the 
rule of faith and practice.

 (5) that it is lawful 
and the duty of every man being thereunto called by those that govern, to bear 
witness to the truth; and

Whereas, in 1758, the eminent English legal commentator William 
Blackstone, whose writings strongly influenced the American Revolution, stated 
that "[The] law of nature, being co-eval with mankind and dictated by God 
himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over 
all the globe, in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any 
validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid derive all their 
force, and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original," 
and continued, "the holy scriptures…are found upon comparison to be really a 
part of the original law of nature, as they tend in all their consequences to 
man's felicity"; and

Whereas, the timeless Declaration of Independence of 1776 cites "the 
Laws of Nature and Nature's God" as the authority to establish an independent 
nation on the American shores, honors the "Creator" as the author of 
unalienable individual rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness, appeals to "the supreme Judge of the World" to examine the hearts of 
the signers, and proclaims "a firm reliance on divine providence" for the 
coming American victory over the lawlessness of the British king; and

Whereas, President George Washington rightly declared on October 3rd, 
1789, that "it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of 
Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to 
implore his protection and favor"; and

Whereas, Congress was prohibited by the First Amendment to the U.S. 
Constitution from making an establishment of religion, which has been taken to 
create a separation of church and state, but this restriction cannot overturn 
the authority of God over civil government, nor was it taken to do so at the 
time the First Amendment was ratified; and

Whereas, the existence of a Creator God with infinite power and 
perfect divine character is a self-evident matter of fact and reality known by 
every human heart, not a religious proposition; and

Whereas, without a supreme divine authority as King over governments, 
governments become their own kings, and gain boundless power to usurp the 
freedoms of the people and to pervert justice; and

Whereas, the Holy Scriptures manifestly declare that Jesus Christ is 
the present Lord and King over every earthly government, for example in Psalm 
2:7-12, Matthew 28:18, Acts 10:36, I Corinthians 15:25, Ephesians 1:21, 
Colossians 2:10, and Revelation 1:5; and

Whereas, the Holy Scriptures continue to be regularly cited in 
support or opposition of legislation in the General Assembly by members of 
every political persuasion; and

Whereas, despite all these facts it has grown to be considered 
controversial or sectarian to acknowledge Jesus Christ as King, the Bible as 
authoritative, or even a Creator God as the true source of liberty; and

Whereas, some organizations opposed to the principles of America's 
founding have taken it upon themselves to intimidate legislators, school 
districts, and local governments within the state of South Carolina from 
recognizing these truths in the public square. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of 
Representatives:

That the members of the South 
Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, officially acknowledge 
that Jesus Christ is Lord and King of all nations and declare this truth as the 
essential limit upon human power and thus the foundation of our republican form 
of government.

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