About National Religious Freedom Day
On January 16th 1786, the legislature of Virginia adopted a religious freedom statute that protected Virginians against any requirement to attend or support any church and against discrimination. This statute, which had been drafted by Thomas Jefferson and introduced by James Madison, later was the model for the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Religious Freedom Day has been officially proclaimed on January 16th in an annual statement by the President of the United States since 1993.
Each year, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day, and calls upon Americans to "observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship."
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