US apology to Native Americans: How a new spiritual movement is calling for official recognition
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports on efforts – led by Negiel Bigpond and former US senator and ambassador Sam Brownback – to see an apology to Native Americans issued in 2010 to be formally recognised in a White House ceremony…
Trump religious freedom ambassador launches international religious freedom meeting
Washington DC, USRNS Sam Brownback, former US ambassador for international religious freedom in the Trump administration, helped launch a conference on international religious freedom in the nation’s capital on Tuesday, bringing together an array of faith and political leaders with the goal of tackling discrimination around the globe. The three-day IRF Summit 2021 “is about […]
US State Department adds Nigeria to list of most serious religious freedom violators
RNS The US State Department has added Nigeria to its list of countries deemed to have the most egregious violations of religious freedom. Sam Brownback, the department’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, told reporters in a Tuesday telephone briefing that the African country was designated as a “country of particular concern” because of an increasing number of […]
Essay: It’s time to end ‘name and shame’ religious freedom policy
In an article first published on Religion News Service, PETER HENNE, an associate professor at the University of Vermont, says it’s time for the US to adapt a different approach to tackling the issue of religious freedom around the world…
China sanctions US figures – Cruz, Rubio, Smith and Brownback – for criticism
Beijing, ChinaAP China said Monday it will impose sanctions on three US lawmakers and one ambassador in response to similar actions taken by the US last week against Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses against Muslims in the Xinjiang region. US Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, Representative Chris Smith and Ambassador for Religious […]
Religions can be part of the solution for peace, not the problem, faith leaders say
Vatcian CityRNS When John Lennon wrote his hit song Imagine, eliminating religions and the divisions they entail was in his view a necessary condition for “living life in peace.” A meeting of religious representatives in Rome this week made the case for shifting that paradigm. The Abrahamic Faiths Initiative group united 25 religious leaders representing […]
US State Department cites religious freedom violators, notes Sudan’s progress
Washington, DCRNS The US State Department issued its latest designations of the world’s most serious violators of religious freedom, moving Sudan down to its next-tier watchlist. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decisions on Friday, including the shift of Sudan’s status, which he attributed to “significant steps taken by the civilian-led transitional government to address the […]
ESSAY: IN THE US, IT’S TIME FOR DEMOCRATS TO START TALKING ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
In an article first published by Religion News Service, PETER HENNE, director of Middle East studies in the Global and Regional Studies Program at the University of Vermont, argues that the issue of international religious freedom represents an opportunity for Democractic presidential candidates…
ESSAY: POMPEO’S ‘CHRISTIAN LEADER’ SPEECH GOES ONLY AS FAR AS TRUMP ALLOWS
ERIC ATCHESON, author and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister, grapples with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent speech to the American Association of Christian Counselors and how his words on Christian leadership stack up…
In Rome, Pompeo and Brownback invoke glory days of US-Vatican alliance
Vatican CityRNS US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took part in a symposium with high-ranking Vatican officials on Wednesday to celebrate diplomatic relations between the superpower and the Holy See and their joint efforts to promote religious freedom, combat human trafficking and support faith-based organisations. “When the state rules absolutely,” Pompeo repeated several times during […]