The Vision

The United States is at an important crossroad. Without a theistic vision as a nation, we will continue to decline. However, we must not violate the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion for each individual. This apparent impasse can only be solved by legally uniting the two documents that represent and express the original Founders’ vision and practical sense: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The Steps

The passage of a constitutional amendment is initiated by either 2/3 of both Houses of Congress, or by a constitutional convention called for by 2/3 of the States. The proposed amendment must then be ratified by 3/4 of the States. Historically, although the States have threatened to use the convention method several times, it has never actually been used, and all 17 amendments that have been passed since the original Bill of Rights, in 1791, have been proposed by Congress, not the States. However, the threat of a constitutional convention has probably influenced the passage of at least four of our current amendments, most notably the Seventeenth, Twenty-first, Twenty-second and Twenty-fifth Amendments.

Our way forward is clear: as we popularize the vision of bringing the Declaration of Independence into the Constitution, we simultaneously promote the idea to each of our State Legislatures and the U.S. Congress. Probably, the States will be most receptive to the idea at first, and with the call for a constitutional convention by an increasing number of States, the proposal will reach the national stage and gain national attention. At this point, either 2/3 of the States or Congress will actually propose the Twenty-eighth Amendment, and our campaign will reach its successful conclusion with ratification by 3/4 of the States.