Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom

Religious freedom is a pillar of peace, stability, and prosperity in democratic societies, while religious repression undermines prospects for order and human flourishing.

Even as we remember that Jesus rose from the dead in Jerusalem, Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere experience some of the highest levels of persecution in the world.

While many aspects of the Russo-Ukrainian war—such as the annexation of Crimea, the shootdown of passenger airliner MH17, and the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church—have been widely discussed by experts, the plight of religious minorities in occupied eastern Ukraine has largely gone ignored.

State Department Ministerial is part of Ambassador Brownback’s rewiring of US foreign policy to prioritize religious freedom.

There were two notable conferences in DC this past week: the second annual Ministerial on International Religious Freedom, hosted by…

The US should grant asylum to Asia Bibi, a Catholic mother of five whose blasphemy trial and acquittal have embroiled Pakistan in violence. The aftermath of her deserved acquittal teaches an even larger lesson, for it demonstrates once again how restricting religious freedom can tear a nation apart.

China’s actions in the last two months—which have included demolishing church structures, burning Bibles, closing house churches, arresting pastors, and forcing millions of Chinese Christians to sign statements renouncing their faith—represent a dramatic escalation in the Communist Party’s clampdown on religion in China.

Summer 2018 was a landmark season for the US and its participation in advancing international human rights. First, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley led the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, and then the US Department of State hosted the first ever international religious freedom ministerial to advance religious liberty around the world.

Last month was a significant step forward for international religious freedom advocacy, but much work remains to be done.