International religious freedom Archives

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

The role of religious freedom today

May 16, 2017

The former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (2005-2008), Francis Rooney, says due to its stabilizing role in society, religious freedom can be used as a “soft power” weapon to deter extremist ideologies, as evidenced by Holy See diplomacy. Rooney points to the Vatican using inter-religious dialogue as a platform to nurture an exchange of ideas oriented toward finding an Islamic rationale to combat extremist ideology.

By Ambassador Francis Rooney

Blasphemy isn’t just a problem in the Muslim world

May 3, 2017

World attention is being turned to the blasphemy laws in much of the Muslim world, especially when religious minorities are prosecuted for allegedly offending Islam. Yet active blasphemy laws also exist in many Western, secular nations. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly one-fifth of European countries and a third of countries in the Americas – including Canada and several U.S. states – have laws against blasphemy.

By Steve Pinkerton