[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7205-7206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1908]



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Part XIII





The President





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Proclamation 7391--Religious Freedom Day, 2001
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2001 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 7391 of January 15, 2001

                
Religious Freedom Day, 2001

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Each year we commemorate the anniversary of the 
                religious freedom statute adopted by the Virginia 
                legislature in 1786. This statute, which reflects the 
                wisdom and foresight of its author, Thomas Jefferson, 
                and its cosponsor, James Madison, became the model for 
                the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it has had 
                enormous and far-reaching consequences for the life of 
                our Nation.

                Just a few weeks ago, we saw how much that freedom 
                means to all of us, as we celebrated Christmas, 
                Hanukkah, and the Eid Al-Fitr within the same week. 
                These holidays belonging to the Christian, Jewish, and 
                Muslim faiths were observed freely and in peace by 
                millions of people across our country--an occurrence 
                unimaginable in some regions of the world, where people 
                suffer persecution and even death for worshipping 
                according to their conscience. Because of religious 
                freedom, Americans have been spared much of the 
                violence, bitterness, and conflict that have scarred so 
                many other societies, and our Nation has benefited 
                immeasurably from the many contributions of generations 
                of men and women who emigrated to America because their 
                right to worship was protected by the Constitution and 
                the courts and respected by their fellow citizens.

                But religious freedom is not a right we enjoy solely by 
                virtue of being Americans; it is a fundamental human 
                right that should be honored in every Nation around the 
                globe. That is why I have sought to make it an integral 
                part of U.S. foreign policy and to raise international 
                awareness that many countries continue to engage in or 
                tolerate egregious violations of their citizens' right 
                to worship. I am proud that we have expanded reporting 
                on religious freedom in every country, and that through 
                our Ambassador at Large for International Religious 
                Freedom, we have strived to promote religious freedom 
                where it is threatened or denied and to intervene on 
                behalf of those who are suffering because of their 
                religious beliefs and practices.

                More than 2 centuries ago, our founders sought to 
                protect the religious freedom that inherently belongs 
                to every human being. Now the responsibility falls to 
                our generation, not only to preserve that right, but 
                also to work together for the day when all people can 
                worship freely and in peace.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, 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, 2001, as 
                Religious Freedom Day. I call upon the people of the 
                United States to observe this day with appropriate 
                ceremonies, activities, and programs, and I urge all 
                Americans to reaffirm their devotion to the fundamental 
                principles of religious freedom and tolerance.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 01-1908
Filed 1-18-01; 9:12 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P