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In a proclamation released this morning, Donald Trump declared January 16, 2018 "Religious Freedom Day" to commemorate the 232nd anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly passing the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, the first statute of its kind.
However, the seemingly innocuous proclamation, which claims to celebrate "Americans from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds" contains references to politicized policies that appeal to Trump's evangelical base.
"Unfortunately, not all have recognized the importance of religious freedom, whether by threatening tax consequences for particular forms of religious speech, or forcing people to comply with laws that violate their core religious beliefs without sufficient justification," Trump writes in the proclamation. "These incursions, little by little, can destroy the fundamental freedom underlying our democracy."
\u201c\u201cPresident Donald J. Trump Proclaims January 16, 2018, as Religious Freedom Day\u201d https://t.co/bD3R2dJfyp\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1516131812
This perspective is particularly salient as the jury is still out on Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, where the Supreme Court will determine if citizens can violate anti-LGBT discrimination laws in the name of religion.
"No American -- whether a nun, nurse, baker, or business owner -- should be forced to choose between the tenets of faith or adherence to the law," the proclamation reads, explicitly referencing the baker on trial for refusing to make wedding cakes for LGBT couples.
Trump also references a memo released by the Department of Justice that contained pro-religious guidelines many have called "a right to discriminate."
After the proclamation was released, "Religious Freedom Day" began trending on Twitter, with people critizing how Trump's policies have only defended his religion while discriminating against Muslims. Others called out the message as a thinly veiled attack on LGBT Americans.
\u201cNEW: By proclamation, Trump declares today Religious Freedom Day to "celebrate the many faiths that make up our country."\nIt comes after Trump first signed an EO, last January, halting all refugee admissions & temporarily barring people from 7 Muslim-majority countries.\u201d— Peter Alexander (@Peter Alexander) 1516109619
\u201c@porterguy1969 It's really freedom for evangelicals to be bigots.\u201d— Peter Alexander (@Peter Alexander) 1516109619
\u201c#ReligiousFreedomDay Christian extremists do not understand what religious freedom means. They seem to want Christianity to rule the day everywhere: the courts, the schools, the culture. That's the opposite of religious freedom.\u201d— HowEasyWeForget (@HowEasyWeForget) 1516126209
\u201c@ACLU "Today is the federal observance of evangelical Christians who voted for me Religious Freedom day."\n\nFixed it for you.\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1516126476
\u201c@WhiteHouse Christians: Hooray! We've been protected from business discrimination since the Civil Rights Act of 1964!\n\nGay Americans: Hey, can we get in on that?\n\nChristians: YOU WANT SPECIAL RIGHTS!!!\u201d— The White House 45 Archived (@The White House 45 Archived) 1516127045
\u201c@WhiteHouse Yes! And no American should have another person's faith foisted upon them. Choosing no faith should also be protected.\u201d— The White House 45 Archived (@The White House 45 Archived) 1516127045
\u201c@WhiteHouse \u201cThe government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.\u201d\n\u2014John Adams\u201d— The White House 45 Archived (@The White House 45 Archived) 1516127045
\u201c@WhiteHouse Persecuting LGBT individuals under the guise of religion isn't an exercise of faith; it's pure, unadulterated discrimination.\u201d— The White House 45 Archived (@The White House 45 Archived) 1516127045
Does freedom of religion include freedom from it?
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