Religious Freedom Day, 2026

Proclamation 11003 of January 16, 2026

Religious Freedom Day, 2026

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For 250 years, our Nation and our people have abided by
a simple truth: Every person is born with the God-given
right to practice their faith, follow their conscience,
and worship their God freely and without fear. This
Religious Freedom Day, we honor America's distinct
place in the halls of history as the only Republic ever
founded upon this sacred principle--and we renew our
commitment to upholding our proud legacy as one
glorious Nation under God.

More than 400 years ago, a band of weary settlers set
sail on a perilous journey across the Atlantic on the
Mayflower in search of religious liberty--setting in
motion the most epic struggle for freedom and faith in
the history of the world. Over a century later,
following a bloody Revolutionary War fought to secure
our God-given rights, the Virginia General Assembly
moved to dismantle the tyrannical laws of the British
Crown and replace them with statutes worthy of a free
people. From that effort emerged the legendary Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom. In that historic
declaration, Founding Father Thomas Jefferson
proclaimed that God ``created the mind to be free'' and
that every individual ``shall be free to profess their
opinion in matters of religion.'' These principles,
codified into Virginia law on January 16, 1786, later
became the foundation of our First Amendment,
immortalizing in ink the free exercise of faith.

This year, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of
American independence, my Administration is boldly
bringing faith back to the public square because the
freedom of religion means the freedom to practice your
religion proudly, publicly, and without fear of
persecution. As President, I am leading a renewal of
faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals,
and halls of Government because the revolution of
common sense is incomplete without a resurgence of
faith in God. To further strengthen families and
protect religious freedom, I established the White
House Faith Office and the Religious Liberty
Commission. I also proudly established a Task Force to
Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, which is charged with
identifying and eliminating all anti-Christian
policies, practices, and conduct in executive
departments and agencies. I directed the Department of
Education to protect the foundational First Amendment
right to prayer in public schools. And as part of my
Administration's historic Freedom 250 initiative, we
launched America Prays--an invitation to Americans of
every background to join together in prayer for wisdom,
guidance, and blessing as our Republic enters its next
great chapter.

From the establishment of the Jamestown Colony to the
Pilgrims' arrival at Plymouth Rock, through periods of
war and peace and through every challenge and every
triumph, religious faith has indelibly shaped our
character, informed our laws, and strengthened our
national spirit. This Religious Freedom Day, I pledge
that I will never stop fighting to restore America as a
Nation of prayer, a country of faith, and a radiant
beacon of liberty and justice for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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, 2026, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on
all Americans to commemorate this day with events and
activities that honor our Nation's proud history of
religious freedom, and I especially encourage families
to gather at places of worship to praise Almighty God
for the blessings of liberty He has bestowed on our
great country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.