WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement after President Trump issued a proclamation marking January 16 as National Religious Freedom Day:

“Our country’s founders understood that a nation could not be the ‘land of the free’ without protecting the rights of Americans to practice their sincerely held religions without prejudice, malice, or retribution,” Wicker said. “Now, more than ever, it is important for us to fight government intrusions that chip away at these important rights. Today, I stand steadfast in my commitment to defend religious freedom for people of all faiths.”

President Trump declared January 16, 2018, as “Religious Freedom Day” in the United States. The proclamation is a reminder that civic participation and religious observance should not be opposing forces and that the free exercise of religion is a “source of personal and national stability.”