[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H267-H268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
National Religious Freedom Day, which was celebrated last week on 
January 16.
  Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly's 
adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious 
Freedom on January 16, 1786. The statute became the basis for the First 
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and led to freedom of religion for 
all Americans.
  We are blessed to live in a country where a person is able to 
practice whatever religion they so choose without fear of persecution 
from government.

[[Page H268]]

  The First Amendment protects freedom of religion, along with the 
freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. This assurance of 
freedom gives us all the opportunity to openly practice and speak our 
beliefs and allows me to speak on the House floor right now.
  The United States is a place where all faiths can be peacefully 
practiced, free from fear of persecution. The very foundation of our 
Nation, a place of freedom and liberty for all, was conceived by 
individuals in search of religious freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States of America will always be a beacon of 
light in the world, and we will always protect our fundamental, unified 
commitment of religious freedom.

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