Reception 6:00 p.m.
Dinner 7:00 p.m.

WHY: Religious freedom was first protected by law in this country when the Virginia General Assembly voted in favor of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. The Statute subsequently served as a template for the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This is an enduring legacy, with ideals as compelling today as they were then. It is a fragile freedom that continues to be defined by legislatures and courts, and a freedom that each generation must protect and hand down to the next. The Center's mission and programs uphold the belief that religious freedom is an essential human right that should be understood and appreciated by all Americans and indeed, all citizens of the world, regardless of educational level, faith background, economic status, nationality, age or gender. To continue to protect the concept of religious liberty, it is imperative to educate teachers and students at all instructional levels about its importance and worth. A strong emphasis on educational programming, therefore, is the cornerstone of the Center's initiatives. Educational programs include the celebration of National Religious Freedom Day, the First Freedom Awards, the First Freedom Student Competition, a Children's Holiday Website, and DVDs and resource manuals on the Constitution and religion in the public schools and international religious freedom, as an aspect of foreign policy. The challenges and opportunities posed by religious liberty in public life today are, of course, not only America's. To this point, we publish and distribute, with an editorial board of eminent experts, a Minority Religious Communities at Risk report which identifies and analyzes the circumstances of minority religious communities in danger of functional extinction. Through the First Freedom Awards, the Center encourages progress by recognizing those who are working tirelessly for religious freedom around the world.