PULLING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OUT OF OBAMA'S TRASH HEAP

Taking Religious Liberty Near and Farr

May 03, 2018 - FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL

After eight back-breaking years, you can't blame people for being skeptical about Donald Trump's promise to pull religious liberty out of Obama's trash heap. 

After all, most Christians had emerged from the last two terms like veterans of a war, bruised and traumatized. 

For the first time, they'd seen an American president turn the full force of government on his own people -- Catholic nuns, family businesses, even his military. Undoing that damage would be difficult, but not -- as we know now -- impossible.

A few months into Trump's administration, Christians got their first taste of life outside the bunker when the president did what seemed unlikely just a year and a half ago and issued an executive order protecting our First Freedom. 

Some people were unconvinced. "I think the best response is to reserve judgment until we see what Trump's administration does," wrote one conservative. Well, one year later, FRC can tell you exactly what the president's order has done: given hundreds of charities, schools, faith-based groups, and small businesses a fresh chance to operate under their beliefs. 

"It is the policy of this administration to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty," Trump declared. And thanks to his order, the president's cabinet has done exactly that, FRC's Travis Weber explains in a new publication on the last year's progress.

From meat-packing companies to combat pilots, Travis explains how the executive order sparked a true revival of the legal protections for religious freedom in America. In his analysis, the president's action has helped charities and other groups provide up to 13.7 million people with health care and other social services. But the order's impact hasn't been limited to the U.S.

This week, FRC hosted a panel discussion exploring the connection between worldwide religious freedom and national security with Dr. Tom Farr, Professor Robert Destro, both distinguished advocates in the field, and FRC's own Travis Weber.

This discussion comes at a crucial time, as we finally have the personnel in place to understand and promote this issue worldwide. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has just been confirmed, following the earlier confirmation of Sam Brownback as Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. Combine that with this president's increasing focus on the issue, and we have a recipe for global success.

Now that our government is ready to be engaged on this, what should we do? As Farr and Destro pointed out, our foreign policy professionals have to start by embracing religion as an area of engagement. They've been trained to stay away from it as a "problem" area, but this is the wrong approach. 

To address the many issues around the world right now, not least of which is radical Islam, we need engagement from within those communities, including from within Muslim communities. And how do you engage religious leaders on the cause of religious freedom if you're not engaging with them at all?

Second, as Farr and Destro recognized, we need to engage the issue of religious freedom because it's in our own interest to do so. Religious freedom is often dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and for this reason, many foreign policy professionals don't see it as central to their work. 

But there is an overwhelming correlation between nations which are threats to the United States and nations which violate religious freedom. In light of this, as Farr and Destro noted, one would think foreign policy professionals would see why they need to understand religion.

Unfortunately, they are trained to think religion is toxic, and we have thus failed to engage on it. 

Even the nonpartisan Center for Security and International Studies points out our failure in this area. Those who want to brush off religious engagement are aided by courts interpreting the Establishment Clause in an unrealistic and improper manner -- to exclude religious engagement by our government.

All of this, unfortunately, works only to our detriment because if we don't engage religious communities, we can't build conditions for religious freedom.