OPINION:
In May, I finished my term on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I offer some thoughts for action going forward that I believe could help promote religious freedom internationally and domestically.
The recently released Pew survey on religious freedom reports that over 80% of the world’s people live in a religiously repressive environment, up from 70% in 2009. We see religious persecution in China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea and many other countries.
All one has to do is look at the 2024 USCIRF Annual Report, which documents that people of all religions are being persecuted worldwide. In our own country, we see troubling violations of religious freedom: Christian schools and churches facing threats, assaults on parental rights, the FBI visiting pro-life families, some businesses “canceling” people and organizations because of their political and religious beliefs, Jewish students facing antisemitism on college campuses, etc.
We witness an insidious relativism that teaches that concepts of right and wrong are old-fashioned and even judgmental. Vices are elevated, virtues are mocked and faith is squeezed out of the public square. Our culture is coarsened because of it.
Cardinal Francis George, former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the archbishop of Chicago, predicted in 2012, “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.”
At the time, I thought this was alarming, but seeing what is happening today, his statement makes me pause. He said: “This tendency for the government to claim for itself authority over all areas of human experience flows from a secularization of our culture. If God cannot be part of public life, then the state itself plays God.”
Chuck Colson warned us of many of these things in his later writings, especially “My Final Word,” published posthumously. It is almost prophetic about the world we now face.
I believe these three ideas would help win the fight for international and domestic religious freedom.
First, there should be a total ban on lobbying for China. One of the recommendations on China in the 2024 USCIRF Annual Report reads, “Ban foreign lobbying by agents representing the Chinese government and its state-affiliated commercial entities that undermine religious freedom and related human rights.”
At the end of the China section, another view is signed by all nine commissioners, both Republicans and Democrats, that shows how China is involved in the persecution of all religious groups in that country and shows its influence around the world.
It states: “It is imperative to ban lobbying for the Chinese government, its state-affiliated commercial entities, and their interests while the government continues its egregious acts of religious persecution. These harsh actions impact every faith group in China with the leaders of the Catholic Church and Protestant house churches imprisoned and even ‘disappeared.’ Cultural genocide devastates Tibet where Buddhist monks die in prison. … Congress cannot look the other way. For the good of our country and religious freedom worldwide, Congress must ban lobbying for the Chinese government and its interests.”
Recently, I attended the ROTC commissioning ceremony for military service branches at the University of Virginia. I was impressed that these young men and women are stepping forward to serve our country. It is unacceptable that anyone could lobby for an adversary such as China, which could lead us into war and put these young people in peril.
Second, do everything possible to help and support groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty, the Becket Fund and other outstanding groups that pursue legal action in defense of religious freedom so they can bring more cases to protect individuals and groups facing religious discrimination and establish a legal precedent that carries the weight of law.
Frankly, these groups have been more effective than Congress in preserving religious freedom and need the resources necessary to expand their work. This should include fighting the rising antisemitism around the world.
We have the best Supreme Court we are likely to have for a generation. This is leading to dangerous efforts to pack the court, which must be resisted. Religious freedom cases reaching the Supreme Court today are generally successful, but they can take up to five years to work their way through. It is an expensive proposition to carry a case through many appeals and to the Supreme Court. That is why these groups need help and support for the long term.
Many people of faith are unaware that they can protect their First Amendment freedom of religion through the active use of the courts. Many people and houses of worship do not have the resources to bring cases independently. The fact that people neither know their rights nor have the resources to defend them encourages school boards, government agencies, the military, employers and others to discriminate as they believe their actions will not be challenged.
Third, while many groups have their own government affairs outreach, which is good, many groups are too small to support their own lobbying efforts. I believe a lobbying firm should be set up in Washington to focus on international and domestic religious freedom. The firm should be staffed by former high-level staff from both the House and Senate who know the inner workings of Congress and government agencies. These would be people who worked on key committees and in Senate and House leadership offices.
Working with religious freedom advocacy groups, this firm would be another set of eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, following and helping shape legislation dealing with religious freedom. A board of religious freedom groups could oversee this firm’s work, which I believe would directly help all groups working on these issues.
Lately, there have been few successes on Capitol Hill to further religious freedom. In the international arena, some countries that USCIRF has designated as egregious violators of religious freedom have been given massive amounts of U.S. aid, and some have expensive lobbying efforts in Washington.
USCIRF has worked in a bipartisan manner and has been faithful in its mission of researching, reporting and naming international religious rights violators. At the same time, its budget has been frozen and even cut, and it has not received the necessary permanent or long-term reauthorization from Congress.
Having worked on religious freedom issues for many years, I believe these steps would make a significant difference in the United States and worldwide. I share these thoughts with the hope that the religious freedom community will take on some of these ideas to help advance the cause of religious freedom and improve the lives of those who are persecuted.
• Former Rep. Frank Wolf recently ended his term on the U.S. Commission for Religious Freedom.
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