President Bush's Proclamation of
Religious Freedom Day
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia,
Jan. 14 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is a proclamation
released by the White House:
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.
