Participants in what organizers called the largest ever religious freedom gathering voiced hope that the new U.S. administration and Congress would include their cause in broader policies as the International Religious Freedom Summit opened in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday (Feb. 4).
After Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom (2018-2021) Sam Brownback, co-chair of the IRF Summit, opened what he called the largest religious freedom gathering in the world, plenary speakers addressed the question of what strategies they would recommend to the Trump administration for promoting global religious freedom.
Annie Boyajian, co-president of rights group Freedom House, voiced the sentiment of many that advocates face a “tremendous challenge, but also tremendous opportunity.” While a recent study shows that the number of countries where freedom of religion or belief doesn’t exist or is severely restricted has grown from 27 to 40, “it’s a new administration, it’s a new Congress,” she said.
“And so it’s an incredible opportunity to reassess policies that can be used to move religious freedom forward,” Boyajian said. “And I think in this exact moment one of the most immediate things that we can do is make sure that the funding freeze that is in place is lifted for that support of religious freedom.”
Every administration has a right to determine that taxpayer dollars are being well spent well, but many programs benefiting religious freedom and people of all faiths have been frozen under the Trump administration, she said.
“We actually have emergency programs that we run, and we have 150 folks who are stuck and in desperate need of help in places like Afghanistan and Egypt and Vietnam and Nigeria,” Boyajian said. “And so lifting that is one of the first initial things that can be done.”
Religious freedom needs to be included in policies related to human rights generally and development issues, so long as it goes not get lost in the discussion, she said.
“We track a number of political rights and civil liberties around the world, and everyone always asks us…‘When authoritarians start cracking down, can you say, aha, there’s one group is targeted and therefore we know the rest will follow?’” she said. “And in fact, what the data shows is that freedom of expression is one of the most targeted, but in terms of different groups, it’s people of faith and other minority groups who all tend to be restricted for the same reasons at the same time.”
Countries that provide such freedoms are the most secure and the best partners for trade and economic prosperity, she said, adding that incorporating religious freedom and other fundamental rights into conversations about security and economy is beneficial and should be done at every level.
“And we know that President Trump in his first administration with Ambassador Brownback did a tremendous job of protecting and defending and raising these rights,” Boyajian said. “And we certainly think that there’s great opportunity to continue to do that.”
Brownback in his opening statements noted that religious freedom is the “God designed human right of the soul that must be protected, guaranteed by all governments and honored for there to be authentic human flourishing of the whole person.”
“Imagine a world then where there is religious freedom for everyone, everywhere – no more genocides, because most genocides happen to religious minorities,” Brownback said. “Fewer clashes of civilizations because most of these clashes are rooted in religious differences being exploited, not protected.”
Also addressing the plenary as part of the panel was David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program from 2017 to 2023, who said networking with people of different faiths helps break down barriers and hostility and reduces persecution.
“I can’t tell you how many problems we solved by just respecting someone else, giving them a chance to be heard,” said Beasley, who accepted a Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the WFP in 2020. “You’ve got to let them be heard, no matter how wrong they are. When there’s religious persecution, you just can’t come in with a hammer. Sometimes you’ve got to network from different angles, and then you’ll find eventually a path forward.”
Panel moderator Brett Scharffs, director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, ended the plenary session by asking members what they would say to Secretary of State Marco Rubio if they were trapped in an elevator with him.
Boyajian said Freedom House has been honored to work with Rubio, whom she held up as a man of faith, and his staff.
“I would just urge him as he undertakes his review, not to throw the baby out with the bath water,” she said. “There is so much excellent work on religious freedom being done – very, very critically important that it make it through an expeditious review because lives really are on the line.
“For me personally, as a Christian, as believers, it’s so important that we’re advocating for religious freedom, but also every single human being is precious and made in the image of God,” Boyajian added. “In my personal view, it is incumbent on us to also help protect others who are targeted and bring them along also.”
Panelist Scott Flipse, director of policy & media relations of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, answered that as a staff member his role would be to listen and carry out Rubio’s instructions, but that it was important that Rubio needs to work with the White House “to get people into positions in the bureaus as quickly as possible, to sort of carry out whatever reevaluations are going on but also to carry out some of the priorities that we all know he has and he spoke about at his confirmation.”
