97-1609. Religious Freedom Day, 1997

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 21, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3191-3192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1609]



[[Page 3189]]

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Part VI





The President





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 Proclamation 6966--Religious Freedom Day, 1997


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 13 / Tuesday, January 21, 1997 / 
Presidential Documents

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Title 3--
The President

[[Page 3191]]

                Proclamation 6966 of January 16, 1997

                
Religious Freedom Day, 1997

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Every day, in neighborhoods and communities across our 
                Nation, Americans come together to worship and to 
                reaffirm their most deeply held spiritual values. Our 
                right to worship freely--each in our own way--is 
                essential to our well-being. Religious Freedom Day 
                offers us an invaluable opportunity to reflect on this 
                precious human right and to give thanks for its 
                protection in our Nation.

                Freedom from religious persecution was of such profound 
                importance to our founders that they placed it first 
                among the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. 
                History has proved the wisdom of that decision. 
                America's commitment to religious tolerance has 
                empowered us to achieve an atmosphere of understanding, 
                trust, and respect in a society of diverse cultures and 
                religious traditions. And today, much of the world 
                still looks to the United States as the champion of 
                religious liberty.

                Yet, even in America, we must be ever vigilant in 
                protecting the freedoms so important to our ancestors 
                and so admired by people throughout the world. The 
                church arsons and the desecration of synagogues and 
                mosques in recent years demonstrated for us all that 
                our country is not entirely free from violence and 
                religious hatred. My Administration took quick and 
                decisive action, including working with the Congress to 
                help churches rebuild and to prevent future incidents. 
                And I am pleased that the American people are coming 
                together as a national community to speak out against 
                such crimes and to renew the climate of trust and 
                tolerance so that all our people can worship without 
                fear.

                We must also support the aspirations of ethnic and 
                religious minorities in other nations as they strive 
                for their own right to worship freely. My 
                Administration has established the Advisory Committee 
                on Religious Freedom Abroad to provide counsel on how 
                best to prevent persecution and promote reconciliation 
                among people of different faiths. I invite all nations 
                to join us in supporting individuals in houses of 
                worship around the world as they exercise one of the 
                most sacred of human rights.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, 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, 1997, as 
                Religious Freedom Day. I call upon the people of the 
                United States to observe this day with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities, and I urge them to reaffirm 
                their commitment to the principle of religious freedom.

[[Page 3192]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 97-1609
Filed 1-17-97; 11:55 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P