No "State Religion" For North Carolina

The GOP-sponsored bill to declare Christianity as the official state religion of North Carolina has died and will not be resurrected.

North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis' office said Thursday that a resolution asserting North Carolina has the power to set an official state religion is dead, and won't go any further. The bill's primary sponsors were Reps. Harry Warren and Carl Ford, a tea party member. Eleven other legislators signed the resolution. Legislators introduce hundreds or even thousands of resolutions every year, honoring constituents or declaring their stances on issues, but they carry little legal weight.

The resolution had spawned widespread ridicule across the nation, including from some Christian groups.