[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 3 (Monday, January 20, 2003)]
[Pages 72-73]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
 Proclamation 7640--Religious Freedom Day, 2003

 January 15, 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 
inspiration 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

[[Page 73]]

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

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., January 21, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
January 22.