Promoting religious liberty abroad and at home
President Donald Trump earlier this week urged other nations to take concrete steps to protect persecuted religious minorities around the world. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke at the United Nations General Assembly event titled a “Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom.”
The president and other U.S. officials skipped most of a major UN climate summit on Monday to attend the meeting. In his speech at the religious liberty event, Trump announced his administration would allot $25 million to protect houses of worship, religious sites, and relics around the world. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom made protecting houses of worship a key recommendation in its 2019 report. The president also said he is working on forming a coalition of U.S. businesses that would promote religious freedom. He said the initiative would “encourage the private sector to protect people of all faiths in the workplace.”
“As we speak, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Yazidis, and many other people of faith are being jailed, sanctioned, tortured, and even murdered, often at the hands of their own government, simply for expressing their deeply held religious beliefs,” the president said.
Jenny Yang, vice president of advocacy and policy with World Relief, commended the president for bringing attention to religious persecution on the global stage but said the administration should make sure all its policies work toward that end. “We believe that the sharp declines in refugee resettlement over the last two years is directly counter to those goals,” she said.
Some faith and policy groups have expressed concern that the administration’s tightening of its refugee program could negatively affect persecuted people of faith hoping to find stability and safety in the United States.
“It’s important for [the administration] to practice at home what they’re preaching abroad,” Yang said. —H.P.
Comments
OldMike
Posted: Fri, 09/27/2019 12:14 pmThe Democrats (being less than perceptive, as usual) think their echo chamber of whiners, victims, and slackers has all the votes they need.
They ignore the people who actually make this country work. They completely fail to understand the large number of ordinary folks who wake up every day and quietly go about the business of their jobs and families. They don’t know about, or think irrelevant, the disgust with which we have viewed their antics and causes.
More power to the Dems. May they continue to stumble towards defeat.
AlanE
Posted: Fri, 09/27/2019 01:30 pmActually, I'm worn out from political theater. I could wish there were people out there in elected office who cared more about doing what is right than protecting the interests of their party. I could wish there were elected officials out there who cared more about doing their job quietly than gaining exposure. As it is, things are all so absolutely wearisome. A certain level of trust is vital to being an effective citizen in a representative republic such as we have. I don't know how anyone feels they are getting the unvarnished truth from any of our elected representatives. The system does not reward simple truth.
not silent
Posted: Sun, 09/29/2019 05:28 pmAgreed. It's very frustrating. I'm wondering if it would be possible for believers to join together in prayer as a group for our nation and our world without letting political differences get in the way. Years ago, I was part of a group of Christians in my profession; and, although it no longer exists, I have never forgotten its tenets (which were apparently taken from a quote that has been attributed to Moravians, Puritans, and others): "Unity in essentials, Liberty in non-essentials, and Love over all." I wonder if it would help for believers to use something like this when dealing with political expression.
West Coast Gramma
Posted: Tue, 10/01/2019 11:15 amAmen!
Xion
Posted: Wed, 10/02/2019 07:45 pmDoes anyone in Washington find it odd that each push for impeachment is always before any evidence is found? In other words, impeach first and find a reason later. Should an impeachment begin the first day a president takes office? And does anyone find it strange that Trump's latest "crime" is asking for an investigation, which is about getting to the truth. That is much different than digging up political dirt or spying on a candidate or paying for a dirty Russian dossier or lying to the FISA court to start a partisan investigation. Has anyone noticed that everything the Democrats accuse Trump of they do themselves?
Idaho ob
Posted: Fri, 12/06/2019 12:32 amnow the “esteemed” Wheaton professor says we have to show “abuse of power”? When did we add that to the Constitution? Doesn’t fit the definition based on centuries of legal language used. Maybe Adam Schiff getting supeona for phone records of political rivals and President’s lawyer - then releasing these records public ally could be abuse of power? This would be more credible if the Dems hadn’t been hollering for impeachment from day one
10 months from now we will have an election, but in the meantime academics anxious to be quoted will try to make this somehow legitimate.