Media outlets are full of stories about religious believers around the world facing harassment, disenfranchisement, imprisonment, and even death because of their faith. Christians in Nigeria and Sudan. Muslim Uyghurs in China. People of any faith in North Korea.
Religion-related killings occur in 24% of the world’s countries, according to a Pew Research Center study earlier this year. At the same time, restrictions on religious freedom globally are at an all-time high since Pew began collecting data in 2007.
The United States has long been a leader in advocating for freedom of religion or belief around the world. Even before becoming a nation – in the 1600s – persecuted people of faith found refuge in what would become the United States. Our commitment to religious freedom is codified in the First Amendment of our Constitution. We have recognized the connection of this fundamental freedom to our nation’s history as well as the security and well-being of people globally.
President George W. Bush called religious liberty, “the first freedom of the human soul – the right to speak the words that God places in our mouths” at a 2001 speech to the American Jewish Committee. “We must stand for that freedom in our country. We must speak for that freedom in the world,” he said.
Religious liberty is essential to American foreign policy objectives and creating a world that is safer, more prosperous, and free. Where religious freedom is denied, violence is more likely: In some cases, repressed communities can turn to radicalism. Likewise, where religious persecution occurs, we see increases in refugees, social inequality, massive human rights abuses, and poverty, causing significant strain on international resources.
As religious persecution climbs, the American people and government should redouble efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief globally. A newly released report from Dallas Baptist University’s Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom provides an invaluable blueprint.
It advocates for a vocal and unequivocal reaffirmation of the longstanding American commitment to religious liberty for all people, of any faith and none. It calls for Congress and the administration to use the robust tools that have been created over the past 20 years of religious freedom work, including filling the vacant position of ambassador at large for international religious freedom and imposing sanctions on nations limiting freedom of religion or belief.
The report recommends a “bigger tent” approach to religious freedom by reversing the divisions that have grown among rights-promoting groups over many years. This includes partners working on governance, poverty alleviation, and other important issues. Finally, it urges the private sector and faith communities to increase their financial support for this fight, particularly in light of dwindling public resources.
These wise recommendations provide a path to renewing American leadership globally at a time of significant international and domestic change. Importantly, they help rebuild an understanding of the importance of religious freedom to America’s interests.
Too often, religion is seen as an inevitably conflictual part of society, particularly in other nations. The thinking goes that those who hold differing beliefs must naturally fight each other. The United States’ tradition of religious pluralism proves that needn’t be the case. Even the most deeply held views – those of salvation, supreme authority, and moral values – can coexist peacefully with those of different convictions.
Democracy and its core value of pluralism – the commitment of people with varying beliefs and backgrounds to respect the rights of others who hold differing beliefs – create structures that protect the right to believe what one chooses. That same framework of democracy and pluralism also restrains the national government from imposing a preferred religion.
In fact, religious freedom reminds us that safeguarding the rights of those who think differently ensures that one’s own rights are also protected. This is how Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, and many others have coexisted in the United States for generations. And our democracy and its commitment to religious liberty have helped resolve the shortcomings and persecution that have emerged in our nation over the course of our history.
While religious liberty is a concept well known to many Americans, it’s not necessarily well understood as a part of our foreign policy. In fact, religious freedom belongs at the center of the security, economic, and governance issues that most concern the United States. This is especially true given that some places have complex religious histories and at times intractable religious conflicts.
Our greatest adversaries use religious persecution as one of the many forms of restrictions they impose on people they deem a threat to their illiberal regimes. A 2025 McCain Institute report highlights how China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – CRINK countries, as we call them – are among the worst restrictors of freedom of religion or belief globally. This isn’t a surprise. These countries actively collaborate to advance a malign, autocratic agenda to maintain their grip on power and threaten the United States and our allies.
The United States has successfully advocated for this important freedom around the world for many years. Now, as our adversaries accelerate their search for global power and persecution mounts on people exercising freedom of religion or belief, we should redouble our efforts and refresh our tools to continue this important fight.
