Sidney (Mont.) Herald-Leader

Daines submits resolution for Religious Freedom Day

Jan 16, 2022

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced a Senate resolution designating today, Jan 16 as Religious Freedom Day. This resolution commemorates the 236th Anniversary of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a landmark achievement that laid the foundations for the First Amendment.

“America stands as a beacon of hope and a symbol of religious freedom around the world. We would not be known as the land of the free without our fundamental right to worship freely,” Daines said. “We must do everything we can to protect this freedom which allows all Americans to practice their faith without fear.”

Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Mike Braun (Ind.), James Lankford (Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Jim Risch (Idaho), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), Jim Inhofe (Okla.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Roger Wicker (Miss.) and John Thune (S.D.) are cosponsors.

The resolution's declaration states:

"Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress— (1) on Religious Freedom Day on January 16, 2022, honors the 236th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom; and (2) affirms that— (A) for individuals of any faith and individuals of no faith, religious freedom includes the right of an individual to live, work, associate, and worship in accordance with the beliefs of the individual; (B) all people of the United States can be unified in supporting religious freedom, regardless of differing individual beliefs, because religious freedom is a fundamental human right; and (C) ‘‘the American people will remain forever unshackled in matters of faith’’ as expressed by the 44th President of the United States in a Presidential proclamation on Religious Freedom Day in 2012.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which passed the Virginia General Assembly on January 16th, 1786. Many historians credit the language of Jefferson’s Statute for inspiring the groundwork for the First Amendment
  
  

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