[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9076--JAN. 15, 2014



Proclamation 9076 of January 15, 2014

Religious Freedom Day, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly affirmed an ideal that has long
been central to the American journey. The Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom, penned by Thomas Jefferson, declared religious liberty a
natural right and any attempt to subvert it ``a departure from the plan
of the Holy Author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and
mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either.'' The
Statute inspired religious liberty protections in the First Amendment,
which has stood for almost two and a quarter centuries.
Today, America embraces people of all faiths and of no faith. We are
Christians and Jews, Muslims and Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, atheists
and agnostics. Our religious diversity enriches our cultural fabric and
reminds us that what binds us as one is not the tenets of our faiths,
the colors of our skin, or the origins of our names. What makes us
American is our adherence to shared ideals--freedom, equality, justice,
and our right as a people to set our own course.
America proudly stands with people of every nation who seek to think,
believe, and practice their faiths as they choose. In the years to come,
my Administration will remain committed to promoting religious freedom,
both at home and across the globe. We urge every country to recognize
religious freedom as both a universal right and a key to a stable,
prosperous, and peaceful future.
As we observe this day, let us celebrate America's legacy of religious
liberty, embrace diversity in our own communities, and resolve once more
to advance religious freedom in our time.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2014, as
Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day
with events and activities that teach us about this critical foundation
of our Nation's liberty, and show us how we can protect it for future
generations at home and around the world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
BARACK OBAMA