Religious Freedom Day, 2016

Proclamation 9389 of January 15, 2016

Religious Freedom Day, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Since our country's founding, religious freedom has
been heralded as one of our most cherished ideals. The
right to practice religion freely has brought
immigrants from all over the world to our shores, often
in the face of great adversity, so they could live
their lives in accordance with the dictates of their
consciences. Some of America's earliest settlers, the
Pilgrims, arrived at our shores in search of a more
tolerant society, free from religious persecution.
Since that time, people of many religious traditions
have added their own threads to the fabric of our
Nation, helping advance a profound and continuous
vindication of the idea of America.

When the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was
adopted on January 16, 1786, it formed a blueprint for
what would become the basis for the protection of
religious liberty enshrined in our Constitution.
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the statute proclaims that
``all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to
maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and
that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or
affect their civil capacities.'' The First Amendment
prohibits Government from establishing religion, and it
protects the free exercise of every faith. Our
Government does not sponsor a religion, nor does it
pressure anyone to practice a particular faith, or any
faith at all. The United States stands for the
protection of equal rights for all people to practice
their faith freely, without fear or coercion, and as
Americans, we understand that when people of all
religions are accepted and are full and equal members
of our society, we are all stronger and freer.

Our commitment to religious freedom has fostered
unprecedented religious diversity and freedom of
religious practice. But these ideals are not self-
executing. Rather, they require a sustained commitment
by each generation to uphold and preserve them. Here at
home, my Administration is working to preserve
religious liberty and enforce civil rights laws that
protect religious freedom--including laws that protect
employees from religious discrimination and require
reasonable accommodation of religious practices on the
job. We will keep upholding the right of religious
communities to establish places of worship and
protecting the religious rights of those so often
forgotten by society, such as incarcerated persons and
individuals confined to institutions. We will also
continue to protect students from discrimination and
harassment that is based on their faith, and we will
continue to enforce hate crime laws, including those
perpetrated based on a person's actual or perceived
religion. This work is crucial, particularly given the
recent spike in reports of threats and violence against
houses of worship, children, and adults simply because
of their religious affiliation.

As we strive to uphold religious freedom at home, we
recognize that this basic element of human dignity does
not stop at our shores, and we work to promote
religious freedom around the globe. We are working with
a broad coalition against those who have subjected
religious minorities to unspeakable violence and
persecution, and we are mobilizing religious and civic
leaders to defend vulnerable religious communities. In
addition, we are calling for the elimination of
improper restrictions that suppress religious

practice, coordinating with governments around the
world to promote religious freedom for citizens of
every faith, and expanding training for our diplomats
on how to monitor and advocate for this freedom. All
people deserve the fundamental dignity of practicing
their faith free from fear, intimidation, and violence.

On Religious Freedom Day, let us recommit ourselves to
protecting religious minorities here at home and around
the world. May we remember those who have been
persecuted, tortured, or murdered for their faith and
reject any politics that targets people because of
their religion, including any suggestion that our laws,
policies, or practices should single out certain faiths
for disfavored treatment. And as one Nation, let us
state clearly and without equivocation that an attack
on any faith is an attack on every faith and come
together to promote religious freedom for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2016 as
Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to
commemorate this day with events and activities that
teach us about this critical foundation of our Nation's
liberty, and that show us how we can protect it for
future generations at home and around the world.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.