[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3535-3536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01115]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 3535]]


                Proclamation 10697 of January 12, 2024

                
Religious Freedom Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The constitutional right to practice our faiths 
                peacefully and openly is a core tenet of our democracy 
                and helps us fulfill one of our highest aspirations as 
                a Nation: to be a citadel of liberty and a beacon of 
                freedom. On Religious Freedom Day, we renew our pledge 
                to protect that right by ensuring each person of any 
                faith or belief can live out the deepest convictions of 
                their conscience with dignity and respect.

                Like so many Americans, faith has sustained me 
                throughout my life--serving as a reminder of both our 
                collective purpose and our responsibilities to one 
                another. But for far too many people today, practicing 
                their faith means facing fear and intimidation. In 
                recent years, hate has been given too much oxygen. This 
                year, in the wake of Hamas' brutal terrorist assault 
                against Israel, we have seen horrific threats and 
                attacks in this country that have both shocked our 
                collective conscience and broken our hearts.

                It is in the most challenging times that our commitment 
                to freedom matters most. We must work harder than ever 
                to practice the values that make us who we are. That is 
                why my Administration is working tirelessly to protect 
                and preserve the right to freedom of religion for 
                everyone everywhere.

                In 2022, I established a new inter-agency group to 
                counter Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Related Forms 
                of Bias and Discrimination within the United States. 
                Last May, my Administration released the first-ever 
                United States National Strategy to Counter 
                Antisemitism, which outlines more than 100 new actions 
                we are taking to raise awareness of Antisemitism, 
                protect Jewish communities, counter Antisemitic 
                discrimination, and build solidarity across diverse 
                communities. We are also developing the first-ever 
                United States National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia 
                and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination in the 
                United States, which will address the scourge of hate 
                against Muslims in America. The strategy will also 
                address hate against Sikh, South Asian, and Arab 
                American communities, among others. Meanwhile, we 
                continue to work with all communities to identify, 
                prevent, and disrupt threats.

                Everyone must be free to practice their faith without 
                fear, whether they are gathering for worship, attending 
                a religious school, participating in the activities of 
                other faith-based organizations, or simply walking down 
                the street wearing the symbols of their faith. That is 
                why, working with the Congress, my Administration 
                secured the greatest increase in funding in our history 
                for the physical security of non-profits--including 
                churches, gurdwaras, mosques, synagogues, temples, and 
                other places of worship. In my 2024 Budget proposal to 
                the Congress, I requested that this funding be raised 
                to $360 million, and my Administration works 
                continually to protect places of worship, including 
                through an annual Protecting Places of Worship Week of 
                Action. Through such initiatives, we are providing 
                resources for faith communities and encouraging 
                religious organizations to share their best practices 
                in promoting security with one another.

                As a world leader, we are also working to make it 
                possible for people to practice their faith freely and 
                peacefully around the globe. Billions of people 
                worldwide are persecuted for or prevented from freely 
                choosing,

[[Page 3536]]

                practicing, or teaching their faith. Repressive 
                governments and violent extremists continue to reach 
                across borders and target people for their beliefs. We 
                have seen these abhorrent attacks on people of all 
                faiths, including Christians in some countries. That is 
                why, since the beginning of my Administration, we have 
                provided more than $100 million to promote religious 
                freedom and hundreds of millions more to provide 
                humanitarian assistance to victims fleeing religious 
                repression, including genocide. Further, we are denying 
                the entry of goods into the United States that are made 
                with forced labor--an abuse of human rights that is 
                oftentimes associated with the genocide of religious 
                minorities. We have imposed sanctions, visa 
                restrictions, and export controls on actors and 
                entities that are responsible for serious human rights 
                abuses like religious persecution.

                On this day, we recognize that the work of protecting 
                religious freedom is never finished. In our quest to 
                build a more perfect Union, may our faiths and beliefs 
                help us heal divisions and bring us together to 
                safeguard this fundamental freedom guaranteed by our 
                Constitution and to ensure that people of all religions 
                or no religion are treated with dignity and respect.

                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 and laws of 
                the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2024, 
                as Religious Freedom Day.

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

[FR Doc. 2024-01115
Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P