[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 13 (Thursday, January 20, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3817-3818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1304]



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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 8623--Religious Freedom Day, 2011



Proclamation 8624--Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2011
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  Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 13 / Thursday, January 20, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 3817]]

                Proclamation 8623 of January 14, 2011

                
Religious Freedom Day, 2011

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our Nation was founded on a shared commitment to the 
                values of justice, freedom, and equality. On Religious 
                Freedom Day, we commemorate Virginia's 1786 Statute for 
                Religious Freedom, in which Thomas Jefferson wrote that 
                ``all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to 
                maintain, their opinion in matters of religion.'' The 
                fundamental principle of religious freedom--guarded by 
                our Founders and enshrined in our Constitution's First 
                Amendment--continues to protect rich faiths flourishing 
                within our borders.

                The writ of the Founding Fathers has upheld the ability 
                of Americans to worship and practice religion as they 
                choose, including the right to believe in no religion 
                at all. However, these liberties are not self-
                sustaining, and require a stalwart commitment by each 
                generation to preserve and apply them. Throughout our 
                Nation's history, our founding ideal of religious 
                freedom has served as an example to the world. Though 
                our Nation has sometimes fallen short of the weighty 
                task of ensuring freedom of religious expression and 
                practice, we have remained a Nation in which people of 
                different faiths coexist with mutual respect and 
                equality under the law. America's unshakeable 
                commitment to religious freedom binds us together as a 
                people, and the strength of our values underpins a 
                country that is tolerant, just, and strong.

                My Administration continues to defend the cause of 
                religious freedom in the United States and around the 
                world. At home, we vigorously protect the civil rights 
                of Americans, regardless of their religious beliefs. 
                Across the globe, we also seek to uphold this human 
                right and to foster tolerance and peace with those 
                whose beliefs differ from our own. We bear witness to 
                those who are persecuted or attacked because of their 
                faith. We condemn the attacks made in recent months 
                against Christians in Iraq and Egypt, along with 
                attacks against people of all backgrounds and beliefs. 
                The United States stands with those who advocate for 
                free religious expression and works to protect the 
                rights of all people to follow their conscience, free 
                from persecution and discrimination.

                On Religious Freedom Day, let us reflect on the 
                principle of religious freedom that has guided our 
                Nation forward, and recommit to upholding this 
                universal human right both at home and around the 
                world.

                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, 2011, 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 to show us how we can protect it for 
                future generations here and around the world.

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                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth. 
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-1304
Filed 1-19-11; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P