Jesus Day is the day of the March for Jesus held annually since the 1980s by some Christians in the United States on the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday. The main purpose is to demonstrate public respect for

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, the central figure of the Christian faith, by uniting with local communities in worship. Then-

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

signed a bill into law proclaiming June 10, 2000 to be Jesus Day. The event was observed in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

that year. The Texas proclamation urged people to "follow the example of Jesus" to "answer the call to serve those in need". The proclamation received national attention when the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' ran an article on it. The ''New York Times'' said that Jesus Day was unconstitutional because it violated the religious freedom clause of the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...

References

External links

''The Jesus Day Proclamation'' from PBS
Christianity and politics in the United States Christian events Christianity in Texas Cultural depictions of Jesus George W. Bush {{Texas-stub