An influential US government commission that monitors religious freedom around the world is urging President Donald Trump and his new administration to take concrete steps to make advocacy of universal religious rights a priority in American foreign policy.
“Our foreign policy should not simply be about US self-interest – you know, national security and trade. It should also be about the ideals and values for which this country is known,” said the Rev Thomas Reese, chair of the US Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF). The Jesuit priest added: “We also believe that promoting religious freedom around the world is in our national self-interest.”
Commission Vice-chair Daniel Mark, a professor of political science at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, called on Trump administration officials to ensure that international religious freedom ‘never be overlooked or relegated to second-tier status’ in US diplomatic engagements.