On Monday, September 23rd 60 heads of state from around the globe met at the United Nations climate summit. With headlines from around the world continuing to be filled with atrocities committed against people of faith, President Donald Trump’s decision to host a forum on international religious freedom was a first and designed to address a much more critical environment. In China for example: upwards of 3 million Muslim Uighurs have been sent to “counter-terrorism” or “re-education” camps, where they are tortured into renouncing their religion and forced to recite state propaganda and Christian communities have also been threatened by the forced demolitions of churches and the detainment of pastors and priests.
According to Open Doors 2019 World Watch Report, in just the last year, there have been:
- Over 245 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution
- 4,305 Christians killed for their faith
- 1,847 churches and other Christian buildings attacked.
- 3,150 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned
According to a new report, the climate of religious intolerance and in particular Christian persecution has never been worse at any time in history.
This was a historic meeting focused on protecting religious freedom worldwide. New initiatives were announced including a pledge of $25 million towards protecting religious freedom, sites, and relics. The US is also forming a coalition of business leaders committed to protecting religious freedom.
Trump said: “The United States is founded on the principle that our rights don’t come from government — they come from God,”
The United States is blessed to have a leader who recognizes that religious freedom as a driving force in all public policy. We are proud of the courage he demonstrates on the world stage and we applaud his leadership and efforts to get other nations around the world to join him in recognizing and protecting this fundamental human right.