Celebrating the growing international religious freedom movement

In the United States there is now often a mixed response when “religious freedom” is mentioned. But for millions of people around the world, religious freedom is a matter of life or death.
There are acute examples throughout history, such as the failure to protect religious freedom for Jews that resulted in the Holocaust. And across the globe, this same question remains at the heart of the genocide against Rohingya in Burma and Uyghurs in China today — with the U.S. State Department designating these and others as “Countries of Particular Concern” for their ongoing religious freedom violations, a designation that includes sanctions.
Freedom of religion is “not an academic exercise held at arm’s length,” shared Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “It is an every day, every hour experience.” Pew Research Center reports that government restrictions on religion are now widespread and increasing in 183 countries.
Religious freedom, or freedom of religion or belief, is a foundational human right that has a growing international movement of government actors, dozens of civil society groups, corporations and members of the media.
Beyond the US constitution, freedom of religion or belief is protected in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” Governments and civil society groups alike have internalized this human right as a banner call to protect human dignity for all people everywhere, whether they identify with a formal religious institution or not.
Growing out of concern for this critical human right, religious freedom has a growing movement in the United States and abroad. Government actors including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a formal body of the executive branch, publish annual findings on the state of religious freedom in the world and actively monitor those imprisoned for their belief, or prisoners of conscience. Additionally, the US Department of State has an entire office dedicated to international religious freedom and is led by a Ambassador at-large for International Religious Freedom (IRF), a presidential appointee.
Government efforts are supported by an entire sector of civil society and media organizations. Every year thousands of activists gather in Washington D.C. for the International Religious Freedom Summit where US Congressional co-chairs host the largest religious freedom gathering in the world. Last year the IRF Summit hosted 1,509 attendees from 41 Countries, 168 speakers with over 90 organizational partners. Speakers included former Vice President Mike Pence who shared, “I believe as you fight for religious freedom […] you’re laying a foundation for a more free and prosperous future for all mankind.”
The movement for international religious freedom extends far beyond the United States. Last year on November 28-30 in Prague, Czech Republic, hundreds of government ministers gathered to discuss the future of freedom of religion or belief in authoritarian states. The conference drew more than 300 participants from 60 countries. The Prague Ministerial was hosted by Ambassador Robert Řehák, Special Envoy for Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue and Freedom of Religion and the Czech government, and chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA). In his opening remarks he shared,
“Our world is like a colorful mosaic, made up of people of various faiths and beliefs. Unfortunately many authoritarian regimes, dictators, and terrorists are trying to either break this mosaic, or paint it with one single color, with bloody red. We are gathered here today, in an effort to preserve this unique mosaic, put the scattered pieces together, build trust, and open new channels of communication and cooperation in helping specific people all over the globe who are suffering for their faith or belief.”
Earlier this month, government and civil society gathered for the Berlin IRFBA Ministerial, a continuation of discussions last year including dozens of parliamentarians from the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB). During the opening session of the civil society program, civil society leaders gathered for a roundtable discussion about pressing religious freedom issues from all over the world. And just outside the room, the tops of cement edifices could be seen, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of the Holocaust serving as an unequivocal reminder of the price of ignoring religious freedom.
The organized social movement forming around religious freedom both in the United States and abroad will strengthen human rights globally. There is no doubt in my mind that the cost of ignoring religious freedom has never been greater, nor the opportunity to protect this and all human rights more prescient.