[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 13 (Thursday, January 20, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3021-3022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01162]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 13 / Thursday, January 20, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 3021]]

                Proclamation 10334 of January 14, 2022

                
Religious Freedom Day, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                From the earliest days of our Nation, courageous people 
                from every part of the world have come to the United 
                States in search of religious liberty, risking 
                everything to flee oppression, persecution, and 
                discrimination because of their beliefs. Our Founders 
                enshrined the principle of religious freedom in the 
                First Amendment to our Constitution, establishing it as 
                a cornerstone of who we are as a Nation. Today, America 
                remains a religiously diverse Nation--a land uniquely 
                strengthened by the routine and extraordinary 
                commingling of faiths and belief systems. On Religious 
                Freedom Day, we recommit ourselves to the protection 
                and advancement of this vital aspect of our American 
                character--and to protecting the freedom of people of 
                all faiths and none, both across our Nation and around 
                the world.

                Our country's greatest strength is and always has been 
                our diversity, including the multitude of faiths and 
                beliefs practiced across our Nation. My Administration 
                is committed to strengthening the Federal workforce by 
                ensuring that it resembles the full breadth of our 
                people by promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and 
                accessibility, including on the basis of religion. That 
                is why I reestablished the White House Office of Faith-
                Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to serve people in 
                need by partnering with both religious and secular 
                organizations. These public-private partnerships embody 
                the American system of religious freedom and are 
                effective--whether by working together to get people 
                vaccinated against COVID-19, providing nutritious meals 
                to children, or welcoming and resettling refugees to 
                the United States.

                Everyone should feel safe when attending a religious 
                service, school, a community center event, or while 
                walking down the street wearing the symbols of their 
                faith. To help ensure that everyone can practice their 
                faith without fear, my Administration has implemented 
                increased funding for the Department of Homeland 
                Security's Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which 
                makes funding available to threatened nonprofits--
                including houses of worship and other religious 
                affiliated entities--to improve their safety and 
                security. I also signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, 
                which included the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act to provide 
                tools that we know are effective in preventing and 
                prosecuting hate crimes. We must constantly affirm that 
                hate has no safe harbor in America. My Administration 
                remains steadfast in our efforts to lead and advance 
                human rights including the freedom of religion around 
                the globe at a time when many people are subject to 
                horrifying persecution for their faith and beliefs.

                In my life, faith has always been a beacon of hope and 
                a calling to purpose, as it is for so many Americans, 
                and I believe that protecting religious freedom is as 
                important now as it has ever been. We must continue our 
                work to ensure that people of all faiths--or none--are 
                treated as full participants in society, equal in 
                rights and dignity. We can only fully realize the 
                freedom we wish for ourselves by helping to ensure 
                liberty for all. On Religious Freedom Day, let us 
                rededicate ourselves to these fundamental principles.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution

[[Page 3022]]

                and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
                January 16, 2022, as Religious Freedom Day.

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

[FR Doc. 2022-01162
Filed 1-19-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P