Religious Freedom Day, 2007

Proclamation 8100 of January 11, 2007

Religious Freedom Day, 2007

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On Religious Freedom Day, we commemorate the passage of
the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,
authored by Thomas Jefferson, and we celebrate the
First Amendment's protection of religious freedom.

Across the centuries, people have come to America
seeking to worship the Almighty freely. Today, our
citizens profess many different faiths, and we welcome
every religion. Yet people in many countries live
without the freedom to worship as they choose and some
face persecution for their beliefs. My Administration
is working with our friends and allies around the globe
to advance common values and spread the blessings of
liberty to every corner of the world. Freedom is a gift
from the Almighty, written in the heart and soul of
every man, woman, and child, and we must continue to
promote the importance of religious freedom at home and
abroad.

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, 2007, as
Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to
reflect on the great blessing of religious liberty,
endeavor to preserve this freedom for future
generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate
events and activities in their schools, places of
worship, neighborhoods, and homes.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.