Monday, 16 January 2017 marks the annual Religious Freedom Day, as proclaimed by President Obama over the weekend:

Religious freedom is a principle based not on shared ancestry, culture, ethnicity, or faith but on a shared commitment to liberty — and it lies at the very heart of who we are as Americans…We must be unified in our commitment to protecting the freedoms of conscience and religious belief and the freedom to live our lives according to them…

Part of being American means guarding against bigotry and speaking out on behalf of others…

Religious liberty is more than a cornerstone of American life — it is a universal and inalienable right…

Religious Freedom Day marks the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, originally authored by Thomas Jefferson.  It preceded the US Constitution and its similarly-themed First Amendment by several years.

President Obama’s 2017 statement was Read more