    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [August 14, 1997]
    [Pages 1102-1104]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious
    Expression in the Federal Workplace
    August 14, 1997

        Thank you. Thank you very much. To all the members of the coalition
    who are here and to those of you who brought your families, thank you
    very much for bringing them. Congressman Cardin, thank you for coming
    and for your steadfast support of this cause.
        Secretary Riley, thank you for being willing to take on this
    difficult issue 2 years ago when a lot of people thought it was a no-win
    issue for you. And you did a superb job. And congratulations on
    persuading your wife to stay with you for 40 years. [Laughter] Someone
    suggested this morning that she should be nominated for the Presidential
    Medal of Freedom for that great endeavor. [Laughter]
        Ladies and gentlemen, you all know that we are here to announce the
    issuance of guidelines on freedom of religious expression in the Federal
    workplace. Our devotion to religious freedom has shaped our identity
    from the beginning, as the Vice President said.
        Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``We have solved the great and interesting
    question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in
    Government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet,
    as well as the comfort which results from leaving everyone to profess
    freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions
    of his own reason and the serious convictions of his own inquiries.''
    The Founders understood that religious freedom is a two-sided coin, and
    therefore our Constitution protects the free exercise of religion while
    at the same time prohibiting the establishment of religion by the state.
    This careful balance is the genius, the enduring genius of the first
    amendment.
        Indeed, because we are free to worship or not, according to our own
    conscience, as the Vice President said, Americans worship deeply and in
    very great numbers. Throughout our history, men and women have come to
    America to escape religious persecution elsewhere and secure religious
    freedom here.
        Over time, we'd all have to admit that our own history on this has
    not been free from error, but over time, we have continued to do better,
    and more and more and more people of many different faiths have been
    able to put down roots and pursue their beliefs freely here. And the
    churches, the synagogues, the mosques, the other institutions of worship
    they have built not only have been their own houses of worship, they
    have also quite frequently become centers of service, compassion, and
    community life and, in so doing, have made our entire Nation stronger.
        Our own experience in America has led the United States to become a
    leader in promoting religious rights throughout the world, as we see
    through the establishment last year of the Secretary of State's advisory
    committee on religious freedom as well as our willingness to press for
    religious freedom at the United Nations and in our bilateral relations
    with other countries across the globe. Last month, Secretary Albright
    released a report that underscores our commitment to helping people of
    all faiths worship

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    freely and live free of persecution as a birthright. Our commitment to
    religious liberty is, therefore, and it must remain, a key part of
    America's human rights policy and an important focus of our diplomacy.
        We also continue to find work that we have to do here at home. In
    the 4\1/2\ years I have served as President, nothing has given me
    greater satisfaction than the efforts of our administration, working
    with a broad coalition of individuals and organizations from practically
    every faith, to support religious freedom here. Again let me thank all
    the members of the coalition for your support and for your guidance. And
    let me thank the Vice President for his shared conviction here. I
    especially want to thank Steve McFarland, Marc Stern, Eliot Mincberg,
    Buzz Thomas, and Rabbi David Saperstein for the particular work they
    have done to make today's announcement possible.
        You and the other members of the coalition are the living embodiment
    of what I mean when I talk about one America, people coming together
    across the lines of faith and political conviction and race to protect
    the religious liberties we all cherish. You stood with us in 1993 when I
    was proud to sign the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. I was
    disappointed that the Supreme Court struck down parts of the act in June
    but pleased that its provisions still apply to Federal agencies,
    entities, and institutions. You stood with us in '95 with Secretary
    Riley when we issued the guidelines reaffirming that our young people
    did not have to leave their religious beliefs at the schoolhouse door.
    And we clarified the limits of religious expression permitted in our
    schools. I still say what I said then: No one can seriously question
    that it strengthens our young people to be able to pursue their own
    religious convictions and thereby gain values and strength, hope and
    reassurance that come with faith.
        Today you stand with us again as we issue these guidelines to
    clarify and reinforce the right of religious expression in the Federal
    workplace. These guidelines will ensure that Federal employees and
    employers will respect the rights of those who engage in religious
    speech as well as those who do not. They do three things. First, they
    clarify that Federal employees may engage in personal religious
    expression to the greatest extent possible, consistent with workplace
    efficiency and the requirements of law. Second, they clarify that
    Federal employers may not discriminate in employment on the basis of
    religion. Third and finally, they clarify that an agency must reasonably
    accommodate employees' religious practices.
        Today I'm instructing the Office of Personnel Management to
    distribute these guidelines to all civilian branch agencies and
    officials. And we expect all employees to follow them carefully. What we
    accomplish here together today shows what can be done to protect
    religious freedom within the bounds of our Constitution, when people of
    good will and faith come together.
        My own faith, rooted in the assurance of things hoped for and the
    convictions of things unseen, calls those of us who share it to a
    lifelong effort not only to deepen the understanding of the soul but to
    bring our actions, thoughts, and feelings into harmony with God's will.
    On that journey, as I have said many times in the past, I have been
    immeasurably enriched by the power of the Torah, the beauty of the
    Koran, the piercing insights of the religions of East and South Asia and
    of our own Native Americans, the joyful energy that I have felt in black
    and Pentecostal churches, and yes, even the probing questions of the
    skeptics. That is America at its best.
        My great hope is that we can enter this new century and this new
    millennium as the most successful multiracial, multiethnic,
    multireligious democracy the world has ever known. We will get there
    through efforts like this, men, women from all walks of life coming
    together to respect and celebrate our differences while uniting around
    the ideals that bind us together, more importantly, as one America.
        Religious freedom is at the heart of what it means to be an American
    and at the heart of our journey to become truly one America. Let us
    pledge always to honor it and, today, to make these guidelines the
    source of harmony and strength as we guarantee to all of our people our
    precious liberty.
        Thank you. God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:40 a.m. in Room 450 in the Old Executive
    Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of Education
    Richard W. Riley's wife, Ann; Steven T. McFarland, director, Center for
    Law and Religious Freedom, Christian Legal Society; Marc Stern, legal
    counsel, American Jewish Congress; Eliot

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    Mincberg, general counsel and legal director, People for the American
    Way; Buzz Thomas, special counsel, National Council of Churches; and
    David Saperstein, director, Religious Action Center and Union of
    American Hebrew Congregations.