[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 122, 110th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 8215 of January 14, 2008

Religious Freedom Day, 2008
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Thomas Jefferson counted the freedom of worship as one of America's
greatest blessings. He said it was ``a liberty deemed in other countries
incompatible with good government, and yet proved by our experience to
be its best support.'' On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate the 1786
passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.
The freedom to worship according to one's conscience is one of our
Nation's most cherished values. It is the first protection offered in
the Bill of Rights: that ``Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.''
In America, people of different faiths can live together united in
peace, tolerance, and humility. We are committed to the proposition that
as equal citizens of the United States of America, all are free to
worship as they choose.
In an era during which an unprecedented number of nations have embraced
individual freedom, we have also witnessed the stubborn endurance of
religious repression. Religious freedom belongs not to any one nation,
but to the world, and my Administration continues to support freedom of
worship at home and abroad. On Religious Freedom Day and throughout the
year, we recognize the importance of religious freedom and the vital
role it plays in spreading liberty and ensuring human dignity.
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, 2008, as
Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to reflect on the great
blessing of religious liberty, endeavor to preserve this freedom for
future generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate events and
activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
second.
GEORGE W. BUSH