[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 9, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 21673-21674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09570]



[[Page 21671]]

Vol. 82

Tuesday,

No. 88

May 9, 2017

Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 9605--National Day of Prayer, 2017



Executive Order 13798--Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 88 / Tuesday, May 9, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 21673]]

                Proclamation 9605 of May 4, 2017

                
National Day of Prayer, 2017

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                We come together on our National Day of Prayer as one 
                Nation, under God, to show gratitude for our many 
                blessings, to give thanks for His providence, and to 
                ask for His continued wisdom, strength, and protection 
                as we chart a course for the future. We are united in 
                prayer, each according to our own faith and tradition, 
                and we believe that in America, people of all faiths, 
                creeds, and religions must be free to exercise their 
                natural right to worship according to their 
                consciences.

                We are also reminded and reaffirm that all human beings 
                have the right, not only to pray and worship according 
                to their consciences, but to practice their faith in 
                their homes, schools, charities, and businesses--in 
                private and in the public square--free from government 
                coercion, discrimination, or persecution. Religion is 
                not merely an intellectual exercise, but also a 
                practical one that demands action in the world. Even 
                the many prisoners around the world who are persecuted 
                for their faith can pray privately in their cells. But 
                our Constitution demands more: the freedom to practice 
                one's faith publicly.

                The religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution is 
                not a favor from the government, but a natural right 
                bestowed by God. Our Constitution and our laws that 
                protect religious freedom merely recognize the right 
                that all people have by virtue of their humanity. As 
                Thomas Jefferson wisely questioned: ``can the liberties 
                of a nation be thought secure when we have removed 
                their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the 
                people that these liberties are the gift of God?''

                In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a day 
                of public thanksgiving and prayer, calling upon 
                Americans to ``unite in most humbly offering our 
                prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler 
                of Nations.'' In 1988, the Congress, by Public Law 100-
                307, called on the President to issue each year a 
                proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a 
                ``National Day of Prayer.'' On this National Day of 
                Prayer, the right to pray freely and live according to 
                one's faith is under threat around the world from 
                coercive governments and terrorist organizations. We 
                therefore pray especially for the many people around 
                the world who are persecuted for their beliefs and 
                deprived of their fundamental liberty to live according 
                to their conscience. We pray for the triumph of freedom 
                over oppression, and for God's love and mercy over 
                evil.

                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 of America, do hereby proclaim May 4, 
                2017, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite the 
                citizens of our Nation to pray, in accordance with 
                their own faiths and consciences, in thanksgiving for 
                the freedoms and blessings we have received, and for 
                God's guidance and continued protection as we meet the 
                challenges before us.

[[Page 21674]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand 
                seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and forty-first.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2017-09570
Filed 5-8-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P