Ray LaHood on Principles & Values Republican Representative (IL-18)

Religious affiliation: Catholic.

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What’s an adherent?

Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.

Member of Arab-American Caucus.

• Rep. Nick Joe Rahall II, West Virginia Democrat, Rahall has been a tireless champion of Arab American issues since arriving in D.C. in ‘76. He has long been a leader in the causes of Palestinian rights and efforts to lift or modify the US travel ban on Lebanon. On domestic issues, Rahall has been a watchdog for the civil liberties of Arab Americans and others, bringing public attention to threats on those rights in cases from the Gulf War behavior of the FBI to current anti-terrorism legislation. [Rahall is] the dean of the Arab American caucus in Congress.
• Rep. Pat Danner of Missouri, second-term Democratic member of Congress. After a decade of being a fiscal watchdog in the Missouri State Senate, Danner has used her experience to focus attention and devise strategies for cutting the budget deficit and waste in federal government. She was recognized by Citizens Against Government Waste in ‘94 for her efforts. [Retired 2001]
• Rep. John E. Baldacci of Maine: Of Lebanese and Italian ancestry, Baldacci is the cousin of retired US Senator George Mitchell. His family runs the well-known Bangor eatery, Momma Baldacci’s.
• Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois’ 18th District is the grandson of an immigrant from Lebanon and the son of a restaurant manager. He has provided leadership on US-Lebanon issues before the Congress while participating actively in the Arab American caucus.
• Rep. Chris John: First elected to office at age 24, John defeated the incumbent three years later to gain the seat his late father held in the state’s House of Representatives. John and his brothers are owners-operators of John N. John Truckline, Inc., a family-run business since 1925.
• The son of the former New Hampshire governor, Republican John E. Sununu has benefited from widespread name recognition in his state. He campaigned on a strongly conservative small government platform.

Member of the Republican Main Street Partnership .

The Republican Main Street Partnership was founded in 1998 to promote thoughtful leadership in the Republican Party, to serve as a voice for centrist Republicans and to partner with individuals, organizations and institutions that share centrist values.

The Partnership pursues public policies that reflect a limited, but responsible role for government and that are designed to achieve fiscal responsibility, economic growth, improvements in the human condition and a nation that is globally competitive and secure. Partnership members include individuals who are interested in moderate Republican policies, focusing on governance and on finding common sense solutions to national problems.

The Republican Main Street Partnership is an organization of party members and public officials committed to building America's principled but pragmatic center within the Republican Party and throughout the nation. The Partnership contributes to the nation's governance through developing and promoting creative public policies for implementation at appropriate levels of government.

Rated 0% by the AU, indicating opposition to church-state separation.

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 AU scores as follows:

• 0%- 20%: opposition to church-state separation (approx. 232 members)
• 21%- 79%: mixed record on church-state separation (approx. 79 members)
• 80%-100%: support of church-state separation (approx. 153 members)

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.

Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.

Recognize Christianity's importance to western civilization.

• Whereas Christmas is a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures;
• Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the US, making Christianity the religion of over 3/4 of the population;
• Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world;
• Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;
• Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its Judeo-Christian roots;
• Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;
• Acknowledges the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the US and in the formation of the western civilization; and
• Rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the US and worldwide.