International religious freedom Archives

Forum examines religious persecution 75 years after Auschwitz liberation

Feb 8, 2020

As the world recognizes the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis’ infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, the vows of “never again” after the Holocaust’s horrors became known threaten to be swallowed up by religious persecution against Christians, Muslims and other groups, said panelists at a Feb. 5 forum at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

By Mark Pattison

Trump puts global religious freedom in the political fray

Feb 7, 2020

Even as President Donald Trump sharply challenged the faith of his political opponents this week, he was drawing new attention to a religious issue that he’s staked repeated claim to: the global freedom to worship.

By Elana Schor

Pompeo talks religious freedom in Nashville speech

Oct 12, 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday continued to raise the alarm about religious freedoms around the world, receiving a warm welcome in Tennessee as his department faced heightened scrutiny amid the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

By Associated Press

At UN, Trump focuses on religious freedom, not climate

Sep 23, 2019

President Donald Trump was addressing a conference for world leaders at the United Nations, but he was talking to his political base Monday as he breezed by a major climate change summit and focused instead on religious persecution, an issue that resonates with evangelical supporters who want to see him reelected next year.

By Jonathan Lemire and Deb Riechmann

New report paints worrying picture of global religious freedom

Apr 26, 2018

Religious freedom conditions worsened across the globe in the past year, according to the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom’s 2018 report, released April 25.

By Courtney Grogan

Religious freedom and Islamic terrorism

May 17, 2017

Blasphemy laws are used to persecute critics of Islam in many Muslim countries, whether moderate Muslims, Christians or Jews, and to attack so-called “non-believers,” thus forming an impenetrable barrier to any form of acceptance of other religious beliefs and contributing to the growth of Islamic extremism. Ending these laws could set the stage for free expression of religious opinions in the Muslim world and help modernize Islamic societies.

By Ambassador Francis Rooney