ICC Note: Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey has been a staunch advocate for international religious freedom in the halls of the U.S. Congress. Congressman Smith explains the plight of Christians in China, Vietnam, and North Korea where any independent religious practice is considered a danger to the state which requires immediate removal/imprisonment. Congress has attempted to enact legislation specifically targeting nations who persecute religious minorities. Unfortunately they have stalled due to other concerns which requires more advocacy on the part of the body of Christ by encouraging government leaders to see the realities of religious persecution and understand the importance religious liberty has on all aspects of life and society. 

11/05/2015 Washington D.C. (The Hill) – The world is experiencing a crisis of religious freedom that poses a direct challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East, Central and East Asia, Russia, China and sub-Saharan Africa.

In large parts of the world, this fundamental freedom is constantly and brutally under siege.

In the Middle East, terrorist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are attempting to systematically exterminate ancient religious communities.

In Burma and Pakistan, Muslim and Christian minorities alike face systematic violence and discrimination.

In Africa, nonstate actors target religious groups for violence and kidnapping.

In China, Vietnam and North Korea, any independent religious practice is viewed as an unwanted competitor to the Communist state, leading to severe restrictions, arrests and torture.

The State Department needs new tools, training and resources to address these challenges. In a world where some people are willing to kill and die for their faith and where anti-Semitism persists even in the most tolerant of places, it is more important than ever for the U.S. to engage in robust religious-freedom diplomacy.

Seventeen years ago, Congress passed the landmark International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The IRF Act created an ambassador-at-large position at the State Department and made protection and promotion of religious freedom a priority of U.S. foreign policy.

Three different administrations have developed religious-freedom policy, and three different administrations have failed to check the rise of religion-related violence and the decline of religious freedom globally.

It is worth asking what we can do better. Are new tools or new ideas needed to help address this crisis? Does the IRF Act need to be upgraded to reflect 21st century realities?

Those questions are why I introduced the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2015, H.R. 1150, with Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). The bill is named after former Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the primary author of the original IRF Act and a tireless champion of the poor and the persecuted.

H.R. 1150 strengthens the role played by the ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, and gives him more tools and the ability to better utilize existing resources. The bill will elevate his office, sending the signal inside the government bureaucracy that this policy is a priority. More importantly, it will demonstrate to victims of religious persecution that they are not forgotten.

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