[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 3 (Monday, January 24, 2005)]
[Pages 66-67]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7864--Religious Freedom Day, 2005

January 14, 2005

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    George Washington wrote, ``The liberty enjoyed by the people of 
these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeably to their 
consciences, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also 
of their rights.'' On Religious Freedom Day, Americans commemorate the 
passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, which 
helped set the course for freedom of religion to be included in the 
First Amendment to our Constitution.
    Our Founding Fathers knew the importance of freedom of religion to a 
stable and lasting Union. Our Constitution protects individuals' rights 
to worship as they choose. Today, we continue to welcome the important 
contributions of people of faith in our society. We reject religious 
bigotry in every form, striving for a society that honors the life and 
faith of every person. As we maintain the vitality of a pluralistic 
society, we work to ensure equal treatment of faith-based organizations 
and people of faith.
    As the United States advances the cause of liberty, we remember that 
freedom is not America's gift to the world, but God's gift to each man 
and woman in this world. This truth drives our efforts to help people 
everywhere achieve freedom of religion and establish a better, brighter, 
and more peaceful future for all.
    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, 2005, as 
Religious Freedom Day. I encourage all Americans to reflect on the great 
blessing of religious freedom, 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 fourteenth day 
of January, in

[[Page 67]]

the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the 
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:29 a.m., January 19, 
2005]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on January 15, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
January 21.