For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 15, 2003
Religious Freedom Day, 2003
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Each year on January 16, we celebrate Religious Freedom Day in
commemoration of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom by the Virginia General Assembly, which occurred on this day in
1786. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, this historic law provided the
inspiration and the framework for the religious freedom clauses in the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The religious freedom provisions of our Constitution -- the
Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause -- open the first of
the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. Because the Framers
placed the guarantee of religious freedom before other cherished
rights, religious liberty in America is often called the first
freedom. The right to have religious beliefs and to freely practice
such beliefs are among the most fundamental freedoms we possess. James
Madison once said that "the Religion then of every man must be left to
the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of
every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its
nature an unalienable right."
Our Founding Fathers recognized that religious freedom is a right
we must protect with great vigilance. We must continue our efforts to
uphold justice and tolerance and to oppose prejudice; and we must be
resolved to countering any means that infringe on religious freedom.
Religious faith has inspired many of our fellow citizens to help
build a better Nation. In America today, people of faith continue to
wage a determined campaign to meet needs and fight suffering. Through
the efforts of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives, my Administration has been working to ensure that
faith-inspired organizations do not face discrimination simply because
of their religious orientation. I recently signed an Executive Order
to ensure equal treatment for faith-based charities that are offering
hope to those in need.
As we celebrate the freedom of faith in America, we also recognize
that there are many people around the world who do not enjoy such
freedoms. The right to believe and express one's beliefs in words and
practice is a right that should belong to all people. Through the
Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom, my
Administration has been working to call attention to religious
persecution and to encourage our allies, friends, and trading partners
to provide and protect this fundamental human right for all people
around the world. By working together to secure religious freedom
around the world, we can create a better future for people of all
faiths.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2003, as
Religious Freedom Day. I encourage all Americans to reflect on the
great blessing of religious freedom and to endeavor to preserve this
freedom for future generations, and to commemorate this day through
appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of
worship.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day
of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-seventh.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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