Ecumenical & Interfaith
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Religious Freedom

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U.S. government gives attention to religious freedom   A member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent bipartisan federal commission, and seven other religious leaders have called upon the Secretary of State to work with the President to fill the vacant position of ambassador at large for international religious freedom. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 made the promotion of religious freedom for all persons a core objective of U.S. foreign policy. The reasons for the safeguarding of religious freedom are its identification as a fundamental right, its promotion of the common good, its place as a source of stability, and its role in advancing international security. The USCIRF itself is troubled and also faces reauthorization next year by Congress. It has recently named a new executive director, Jackie Wolcott, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Security Council during the Bush administration. USCIRF members are not in agreement with one another. They are frustrated that their recommendations to the State Department are not followed. The 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom prepared for the Congress by the State Department primarily focuses on the actions of governments around the world. Its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) is Burma (Myanmar), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. See the executive summary. In addition to its nation-related summaries, it highlights the role of interreligious dialogue and some recent developments. Leonard Leo, the chair of an independent bipartisan federal commission, the, said after the 2009 report's release, "President Obama has raised religious freedom in his speeches abroad without those sentiments being translated into concrete policy actions." USCIRF would like other countries added to the CPC designees, especially Vietnam and Pakistan. USCIRF also has a "watch" list that, in 2008, included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Additionally, it is monitoring or reviewing Russia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Turkey.    "The Future of U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy," a Georgetown University study, says that international religious freedom policy has had minimal impact on persecution and is viewed by others as an attack on majority religious communities, cultural imperialism, and a front for American missionaries. The Washington Post carried a story in mid-February that reported charges by some past USCIRF members, staff, and former staff that there is "ideology and tribalism" behind the scenes. A former staff person, a Muslim, has filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint after her contract was canceled.

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American Muslim on ISCIRF body visits Philippine Muslims

Talal Y. Eid, a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), traveled to the Philippines on February 7-18 to meet with local Islamic religious leaders and the Office on Muslim Affairs. The head of the office expressed hope that the visit would lead to closer relations between the Muslim communities of the two countries.

Aftermath of Egypt sectarian violence becoming more problematic

Following a shooting incident that left six Christian worshipers and a Muslim guard dead after their Christmas worship on January 6 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, international ecumenical partners expressed deep concern. Now Middle East Report Online has offered an article that concludes, "As sectarian attacks continue to increase in frequency and the precipitating factors become more difficult to predict, it may not be long before both the government and the public have to come to terms with the full implications of a society in conflict." The article charges that the government's rhetoric has worn thin and that the Coptic Orthodox leadership cannot be relied upon to contain its constituency. It says fundamental political issues need attention. Christians make up perhaps 10% of the Egyptian population, though the reported figures' inaccuracy makes it hard to estimate.

Pew study reviews global restrictions on religion

"Global Restrictions on Religion," a study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life released in December 2009, finds that a third of the world's countries have high or very high restrictions on religion. These countries contain the majority of the world's population. Restrictions may come from government and/or from individuals or societal groups. Public tensions between religious groups were reported in a vast majority of countries, with hostility leading to violence in about two-thirds of them. The study made no attempt to determine if restrictions are justified nor to measure positive levels of religious dynamism.

IRD faults WEA after its China visit

The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), in an article by its spokesperson on religious freedom, criticized the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) after an international WEA delegation visited China in November 2009. The "left-leaning World Council of Churches ignores vast swaths of the world’s persecuted Christians," the IRD leader charged, but the WEA "is part of an international organization created to give 'worldwide identity, voice, and platform to more than 420 million evangelical Christians.'” The IRD complained that WEA had remained silent on issues of human rights and religious freedom though it had reported affirmatively upon visits with the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and about going to Nanjing Seminary and the Amity Press. "Our long-term commitment in China is to build on these first small steps for the good of the church worldwide,” said the WEA's international director after the trip.

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