President Donald Trump issued a proclamation marking Jan. 16 as Religious Freedom Day, commemorating Virginia’s Jan. 16, 1786 adoption of a religious freedom statute authored by Thomas Jefferson.
“For 250 years, our Nation and our people have abided by a simple truth,” the proclamation stated: “Every person is born with the God-given right to practice their faith, follow their conscience, and worship their God freely and without fear.”
“This Religious Freedom Day, we honor America’s distinct place in the halls of history as the only Republic ever founded upon this sacred principle — and we renew our commitment to upholding our proud legacy as one glorious Nation under God,” the text continued.
The proclamation briefly recounted a history of religious freedom in the United States, emphasizing the current year as the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“This year, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, my Administration is boldly bringing faith back to the public square because the freedom of religion means the freedom to practice your religion proudly, publicly, and without fear of persecution,” Trump declared. “As President, I am leading a renewal of faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of Government because the revolution of common sense is incomplete without a resurgence of faith in God.”
The proclamation went on to tout the Trump administration’s religion-focused initiatives, including a White House Faith Office, a Religious Liberty Commission, a Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, “which is charged with identifying and eliminating all anti-Christian policies, practices, and conduct in executive departments and agencies,” and Trump’s 2025 direction of the Education Department “to protect the foundational First Amendment right to prayer in public schools.”
“And as part of my Administration’s historic Freedom 250 initiative,” Trump wrote, “we launched America Prays — an invitation to Americans of every background to join together in prayer for wisdom, guidance, and blessing as our Republic enters its next great chapter.”
“This Religious Freedom Day, I pledge that I will never stop fighting to restore America as a Nation of prayer, a country of faith, and a radiant beacon of liberty and justice for all,” Trump stated in the proclamation.
Trump concluded by calling on Americans “to commemorate this day with events and activities that honor our Nation’s proud history of religious freedom, and I especially encourage families to gather at places of worship to praise Almighty God for the blessings of liberty He has bestowed on our great country.”
Religious Freedom Day, 1993-2026
Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly’s enactment in 1786 of a statute originally titled “A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia,” originally drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777.
In October 1992, the House and Senate passed a joint resolution designating Jan. 16, 1993 as “Religious Freedom Day” and requesting that then-President George H. W. Bush “issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to join together to celebrate their religious freedom and to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Bush issued that proclamation, and President Bill Clinton followed suit with a proclamation of his own in January 1994 – as have all presidents since on an annual basis.
The 1992 Congressional resolution pointed out that Virginia’s original religious freedom statute “shaped the guarantees of religious freedom in the first amendment,” adding that “the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized repeatedly that the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom was an important influence in the development of the Bill of Rights.”
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