Standing near the Jefferson Memorial on Religious Freeedom Day, representatives of five religious groups vowed to preserve the separation of church and state 217 years after Virginia adopted Thomas Jefferson's landmark law on religious liberty

Christian Century, Feb 22, 2003

Standing near the Jefferson Memorial on Religious Freeedom Day, representatives of five religious groups vowed to preserve the separation of church and state 217 years after Virginia adopted Thomas Jefferson's landmark law on religious liberty. Led by the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance, the groups said they would resist bills that would mandate prayer in schools, allow political endorsements by churches and give federal dollars to religious charities.

January 16 marked the 12th anniversary of the special day first marked by President George H. W. Bush in 1991. "We have learned the clear lesson of history," said J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee. "What government funds it winds up controlling." Across the Tidal Basin, the White House issued its own Religious Freedom Day proclamation. Bush applauded his administration's fight to "ensure that faith-based organizations do not face discrimination simply because of their religious orientation."