[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Proclamation 7640 of January 15, 2003
 
Religious Freedom Day, 2003

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Each year on January 16, we celebrate Religious Freedom Day in
commemoration of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom by the Virginia General Assembly, which occurred on this day in
1786. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, this historic law provided the in

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spiration and the framework for the religious freedom clauses in the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The religious freedom provisions of our Constitution--the Establishment
Clause and the Free Exercise Clause--open the first of the ten
amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. Because the Framers placed
the guarantee of religious freedom before other cherished rights,
religious liberty in America is often called the first freedom. The
right to have religious beliefs and to freely practice such beliefs are
among the most fundamental freedoms we possess. James Madison once said
that ``the Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and
conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it
as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an unalienable
right.''
Our Founding Fathers recognized that religious freedom is a right we
must protect with great vigilance. We must continue our efforts to
uphold justice and tolerance and to oppose prejudice; and we must be
resolved to countering any means that infringe on religious freedom.
Religious faith has inspired many of our fellow citizens to help build a
better Nation. In America today, people of faith continue to wage a
determined campaign to meet needs and fight suffering. Through the
efforts of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives, my Administration has been working to ensure that faith-
inspired organizations do not face discrimination simply because of
their religious orientation. I recently signed an Executive Order to
ensure equal treatment for faith-based charities that are offering hope
to those in need.
As we celebrate the freedom of faith in America, we also recognize that
there are many people around the world who do not enjoy such freedoms.
The right to believe and express one's beliefs in words and practice is
a right that should belong to all people. Through the Department of
State's Office of International Religious Freedom, my Administration has
been working to call attention to religious persecution and to encourage
our allies, friends, and trading partners to provide and protect this
fundamental human right for all people around the world. By working
together to secure religious freedom around the world, we can create a
better future for people of all faiths.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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, 2003, as
Religious Freedom Day. I encourage all Americans to reflect on the great
blessing of religious freedom and to endeavor to preserve this freedom
for future generations, and to commemorate this day through appropriate
events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
seventh.
GEORGE W. BUSH


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