President Biden has issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring today as Religious Freedom Day, the anniversary of the adoption by Virginia in 1786 of the Statute of Religious Freedom. The President's Proclamation reads in part:
We are all blessed to live in a Nation that is home to people of many faiths. However, even in our land of liberty, too many people are afraid that practicing their faith will bring fear, violence, and intimidation. Over the past year, we have seen a shocking rise in antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel and a disturbing rise in Islamophobia. Hate has no safe harbor here in America. And around the world, minority communities continue to live in fear of violence and are denied equal protections under the law, including Christians in some countries.
My Administration is committed to ensuring that people of every faith and belief can live out their deepest conviction freely, peacefully, and safely....
Today, we recognize how religious freedom is at the core of who we are as a Nation. It is central to the freedom we offer all Americans. And it is threaded throughout all our work to advance human freedom and dignity in the world.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also issued a Statement (full text) marking the occasion, saying in part:
The United States’s dedication to the freedom of religion or belief continues uninterrupted. Over the past four years, the United States has worked tirelessly to secure this right for everyone around the world. These efforts include: documenting religious freedom conditions in every country....; declaring the actions of members of the Burmese military against Rohingya to be genocide and crimes against humanity; expanding to over 40 countries the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance....
The United States has also expanded diplomatic efforts to advance freedom of religion or belief through the UN, the Article 18 Alliance, the International Contact Group, and in close coordination with partner countries. These efforts helped secure the release of religious prisoners of conscience in Nicaragua, the People’s Republic of China, Nigeria, Iran, Somalia, Vietnam, and elsewhere around the world.
