[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 2 (Monday, January 18, 1999)]
[Pages 54-55]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7162--Religious Freedom Day, 1999

January 14, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    On Religious Freedom Day we commemorate a landmark achievement in 
the history of our Nation: the adoption in 1786 by the Virginia 
legislature of a religious freedom statute. This historic legislation, 
drafted by Thomas Jefferson and co-sponsored by James Madison, was 
designed to prevent religious discrimination and to protect Virginians 
from pressure to join or support any church. It served as the model for 
the First Amendment of our Constitution, the guarantee of freedom of 
religion that has beckoned so many people fleeing persecution to seek 
sanctuary in this land.
    Americans are a deeply religious people, and our right to worship as 
we choose, to follow our own personal beliefs, is the source of much of 
our Nation's strength. Our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and 
other houses of worship are centers of community service and community 
life. They preserve and promote the values and religious traditions that 
have infused our efforts

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to build a civil society based on mutual respect, compassion, and 
generosity. They provide our children with the moral compass to make 
wise choices.
    America's reverence for religious freedom and religious tolerance 
has saved us from much of the hatred and violence that have plagued so 
many other peoples around the world. We have always been vigilant in 
protecting this freedom, but our efforts cannot stop at our own shores. 
We cannot ignore the suffering of men and women across the globe today 
who are harassed, imprisoned, tortured, and executed simply for seeking 
to live by their own beliefs. Freedom of religion is a fundamental human 
right that must be upheld by every nation and guaranteed by every 
government. The promotion of religious freedom for all peoples must 
continue to serve as a central element of our foreign policy.
    Reflecting our steadfast commitment to this goal, last fall the 
Congress passed, and I was proud to sign into law, the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998. This legislation enhances our ability to 
advance freedom of religion for men and women of all faiths throughout 
the world. It also establishes a new position at the Department of 
State--the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom--to 
ensure that religious liberty concerns receive consistent and 
appropriate attention at the highest policymaking levels.
    On Religious Freedom Day, let us give thanks for this precious right 
that has so profoundly shaped and sustained our Nation, and let us 
strengthen our efforts to share its blessings with oppressed peoples 
everywhere.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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, 1999, as Religious Freedom Day. I call upon the people of the United 
States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and 
programs, and I urge all Americans to reaffirm their devotion to the 
fundamental principles of religious freedom and religious tolerance.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 
of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., January 19, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
January 20.