National Religious Freedom

January 16, Tuesday

National Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly's adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786. That statute became the basis for the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and led to freedom of religion for all Americans.

Religious Freedom Day has been officially proclaimed on January 16 in an annual statement by the President of the United States since 1993.

National Religious Freedom