National Religious Freedom Day

{{Short description|United States observance on freedom of religion}}

Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly's adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786. The statute, written by Jefferson in 1777 and shepherded through the legislature by James Madison in 1786, 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.{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xbymisw0t8wC&q=Virginia+Statute+for+Religious+Freedom+establishment+clause&pg=PA131|title=A Senator Speaks Out on Liberty, Opportunity, and Security|quote= So the Establishment Clause, as well as our Bill of Rights, and our Declaration of Independence, are all modeled on the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the Virginia Declaration of Rights.|year=2006|isbn=9780976966814|access-date=6 December 2012|last1=Allen|first1=George|publisher=Xulon Press }}

Religious Freedom Day is commemorated on January 16 via a proclamation by the President of the United States since 1993.{{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180117172011/https://www.heritage.org/civil-society/report/religious-freedom-day-timely-reminder Religious Freedom Day: A Timely Reminder]}}.{{USBill|102|HJ|457|pipe=H.J. Res. 457 designating January 16, 1993, as "Religious Freedom Day"|site=yes}} Legislation has been [https://religiondispatches.org/celebrating-religious-freedom-day-by-taking-back-the-revolutionary-meaning-of-religious-freedom/ introduced] in Minnesota to commemorate Religious Freedom Day in the state as well.{{cite web | url=https://religiondispatches.org/celebrating-religious-freedom-day-by-taking-back-the-revolutionary-meaning-of-religious-freedom/ | title=Celebrating Religious Freedom Day by Taking Back the Revolutionary Meaning of 'Religious Freedom' | date=10 January 2023 }} It is not a federal holiday.