ANALYSIS
On Friday, President Biden issued a proclamation in favor of religious freedom, saying he’s declaring Sunday, January 16 as Religious Freedom Day. It’s something that presidents do every year.
“Our Founders enshrined the principle of religious freedom in the First Amendment to our Constitution, establishing it as a cornerstone of who we are as a Nation,” Biden rightly asserts.
We’re posting his proclamation in its entirety below so you can see it for yourself. His words in this statement are pro-liberty and they’re essential for sending a message to the world that religious freedom must be protected and respected.
But Biden’s actions so far haven’t lived up to these important ideals. So we’ve also provided 10 examples from our coverage over the past year to illustrate the concerns. From the genocide against Christians in Nigeria to the religious rights of Americans, it turns out the principles of religious liberty often take a back seat to other objectives of the Biden administration.
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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY, 2022
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
From the earliest days of our Nation, courageous people from every part of the world have come to the United States in search of religious liberty, risking everything to flee oppression, persecution, and discrimination because of their beliefs. Our Founders enshrined the principle of religious freedom in the First Amendment to our Constitution, establishing it as a cornerstone of who we are as a Nation. Today, America remains a religiously diverse Nation — a land uniquely strengthened by the routine and extraordinary commingling of faiths and belief systems. On Religious Freedom Day, we recommit ourselves to the protection and advancement of this vital aspect of our American character — and to protecting the freedom of people of all faiths and none, both across our Nation and around the world.
Our country’s greatest strength is and always has been our diversity, including the multitude of faiths and beliefs practiced across our Nation. My Administration is committed to strengthening the Federal workforce by ensuring that it resembles the full breadth of our people by promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, including on the basis of religion. That is why I reestablished the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to serve people in need by partnering with both religious and secular organizations. These public-private partnerships embody the American system of religious freedom and are effective — whether by working together to get people vaccinated against COVID-19, providing nutritious meals to children, or welcoming and resettling refugees to the United States.
Everyone should feel safe when attending a religious service, school, a community center event, or while walking down the street wearing the symbols of their faith. To help ensure that everyone can practice their faith without fear, my Administration has implemented increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which makes funding available to threatened nonprofits — including houses of worship and other religious affiliated entities — to improve their safety and security. I also signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which included the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act to provide tools that we know are effective in preventing and prosecuting hate crimes. We must constantly affirm that hate has no safe harbor in America. My Administration remains steadfast in our efforts to lead and advance human rights including the freedom of religion around the globe at a time when many people are subject to horrifying persecution for their faith and beliefs.
In my life, faith has always been a beacon of hope and a calling to purpose, as it is for so many Americans, and I believe that protecting religious freedom is as important now as it has ever been. We must continue our work to ensure that people of all faiths — or none — are treated as full participants in society, equal in rights and dignity. We can only fully realize the freedom we wish for ourselves by helping to ensure liberty for all. On Religious Freedom Day, let us rededicate ourselves to these fundamental principles.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2022, as Religious Freedom Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
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We’ve all heard that actions speak louder than words. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Well done is better than well said.” And Christian preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is well to preach as I do, with my lips. But you can all preach with your feet and by your lives, and that is the most effective preaching.”
So what do Biden’s actions show? Here are 10 examples from his presidency so far:
READ Leaked HHS Memo Reveals Biden Admin Seeks to Strip Americans of Religious Protections
LISTEN Biden Admin Looks to Revoke Trump Era Religious Freedom Protections
READ These Biden Priorities Target Religious Liberty
READ TN Children’s Charity Sues Biden Admin for Trying to Force Them to Violate Their Christian Beliefs
READ Biden Admin to Scrap Focus on Religious Freedom in Favor of Abortion, LGBTQ Activism
READ Religious Groups Seek Emergency Supreme Court Relief, Call Biden’s Vaccine Mandate ‘Authoritarian’
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN