WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today stood in defense of Houston pastors’

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today stood in defense of Houston pastors’ First Amendment right to speak and worship freely, calling upon Houstonians to stand firm against the City of Houston’s recent subpoena requiring pastors to submit sermons and other forms of communication.

“Today we all stand united in defense of religious liberty, and we all stand united in defense of our pastors,” said Sen. Cruz. “Our nation is an exceptional nation, it is a unique nation. We were founded on the radical concept that rights do not come from government, but they come from the Almighty God.

“This is a country that was formed centuries ago by people fleeing religious persecution seeking a land where you do not need to seek the permission of a king or queen or president to preach the Word of God, because we serve a higher authority.”

In his remarks, Sen. Cruz noted several recent assaults on religious liberty: The IRS illegally targeting Americans and requests for content of their prayers; The Air Force Chaplain, who was forced to remove his blog post stating, “There are no Atheists in foxholes;” The Obama Administration’s litigation against organizations such as Hobby Lobby and the Catholic group of nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor, forcing them to either violate their conscience or face crippling faith fines.

Sen. Cruz concluded, “Yet as we’ve seen it across the country, our hearts are particularly broken that we are seeing it here in Houston, Texas. This week, the government of Houston, Texas sent a subpoena to silence prayers. The government of Houston, Texas demanded of the pastors, hand over your sermons to the government. The city of Houston has no power – no legal authority – to silence the church. Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit, and when you subpoena one pastor, you subpoena every pastor.”