US, at least 17 countries to launch first-ever International Religious Freedom Alliance
Religious liberty and the right to have free exercise there of and the right to freely express their beliefs are human rights that all people on earth deserve to have because we were created by God with such rights and free will.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Government officials from the United States and several countries will convene in Washington, D.C., next week on the eve of the National Prayer Breakfast for the inaugural meeting of the new International Religious Freedom Alliance.
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback told reporters on Wednesday that the alliance is essentially like an "activist club" of countries that are serious about pushing religious freedom globally.
The alliance was first announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last July and touted by President Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly in September. It is said to be the first-ever alliance of nations devoted to confronting religious persecution around the world.
The alliance comes at a time when most of the world's population lives in countries where religious freedom is limited in some way.
"I have not seen this type of organization or push on a human right that I am aware of before," Brownback explained this week. "This is the first effort really to get a group of nations that will be the activist on a particular human right to try to champion and pursue that cause more aggressively."
He stressed that there is strong support for religious freedom around the world even though there is much "encroachment" on it.
"We will be looking at things we can work collectively on and [how] we can push for religious freedom efforts around the world," he said. "We are excited about the countries and their enthusiasm."
According to Brownback, at least 17 countries so far have committed to the alliance. But he hopes that the number of countries represented at the Wednesday event will be in the "upper 20s."
The former Kansas governor and U.S. senator could not yet disclose which countries will participate in the meeting.
"We got a pretty high bar for joining it, honestly," Brownback detailed. "We want nations that respect religious freedom in their own country and are willing to push religious freedom in international venues. This is the activist club of countries."
Brownback believes that the "right crew" is assembled and believes a difference will be made.
"The United States pushes [religious freedom] but we need other allies to push it too," Brownback said. "The fortunate thing is that it isn't going to be just us. It is going to be a group of nations to push on this."
While the International Religious Freedom Alliance will bridge like-minded nations on the issue, some global interfaith efforts have been formed by religious leaders to promote religious freedom globally.
Brownback traveled to Rome for a Jan. 16 meeting of the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative , a coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders looking to reduce violence in the name of religion.
"One of the key statements that that came out is this group committed to resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism," he explained.
"This was a statement from the Document on Human Fraternity that Pope Francis signed along with the President of Al-Azhar, the top Muslim university in the world. This group endorsed [the statement] and wants to put legs under these documents. It wants to get out and have a practical impact in places around the world where there is a conflict between the Abrahamic faiths."
Through the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative, there will be trips to various countries to try to "reduce violence between Christians, Muslims and Jews," he added. The Balkans, Sudan and Nigeria are among other areas where theologians are calling for peace.
"Unfortunately, much of the world looks at religion as the cause of wars," he said. "This group and the people they are working with see religion as an instrument of peace. They want to make it that way."
Last September, plans were announced for the Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex that will house a church, synagogue and mosque in the United Arab Emirates. The idea is to promote religious harmony among the Abrahamic faiths.
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Seems like a good thing to fight religious-based war, hatred, hostility and extremism.
How about bigotry? That seems like a good thing to fight. Another good one is oppression.
This article is about religious freedom. Plenty of other social justice warrior opportunities for you elsewhere. By the way oppressing someones religious freedom IS a form of bigotry. [deleted]
And that is what I am addressing.
I didnt see anything in your comment that had anything to do with religious FREEDOM. You simply called them warmongers and then deleted skirting.
deleted meta
Where do you read me calling 'them' (who is 'them' by the way?) war-mongers? Best to tone down the imagination and read what people write.
Note that @2 I started off by quoting the article:
I then agreed with the above sentiment and added to it:
I suspect most everyone is capable of reading what I wrote and understand that I am in favor of fighting the bad side of religions (as the article indicated). Also, one should be able to comprehend that I am suggesting that bigotry and oppression should also be fought. I am talking about religious bigotry such as that against homosexuals (one example) and oppression such as that against women (especially in Islam ... one example).
See?
I am in favor of that. If someone wishes to be Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, ..., or agnostic atheist that is their personal choice. Freedom to believe is really not the issue. Freedom to act on the belief is where problems occur because the acts on belief are not always good for society (or humanity).
Apparently you have gone this entire thread without actually comprehending what I wrote @2 and have subsequently wrote. It seems to me that you have decided on your own that my position is to deny freedom of belief. That comes from your imagination, not from what I write. My objections to your claims such as 'evolution is pseudoscience - a worldwide conspiracy of godless scientists' are not against your freedom to believe whatever nonsense you wish but rather the assertions of truth made based on belief instead of sound reasoning backed by quality evidence.
It seems some people are incapable or unwilling to make the distinction between the two. Then when others of different religious beliefs/actions come into play, it's no wonder that conflict ensues.
I think part of it is a lack of understanding. And I highly suspect the lack of understanding is not born out of an inability to understand but rather a refusal to learn and consider.
I tend to agree.