Senators Lankford, Coons, and Rubio Introduce Resolution Promoting Religious Freedom

Press Release

Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have introduced a bipartisan resolution (S.Res.162) to affirm the commitment of the United States to promote religious freedom and condemn persecution based on faith. This resolution also encourages the President to nominate an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom within the State Department.

"The right to practice any faith, or have no faith, is a fundamental human right of all people, no matter where they live on earth. Nations that oppress this basic human right are bound to violate other human rights," said Lankford. "It is important that America stands up for religious freedom, and unequivocally denounces anti-religious violence, oppression, and genocide around the world. That's what this resolution calls for."

"The right to practice your specific faith or not practice at all is a fundamental American value, but it's also a right that people all around the world deserve, too," said Coons. "In too many other countries, religious minorities are unfairly targeted and even persecuted for their beliefs, and I am pleased to introduce this resolution with my colleagues to promote religious freedom around the world."

"Religious freedom is a fundamental human right that is under assault across the globe," said Rubio. "Churches and other houses of worship are being bombed and shuttered, pastors are being imprisoned, and people of faith are being intimidated, harassed and worse. Supporting religious freedom must be a core component of America's foreign policy, and I'm proud to stand with my colleagues in introducing this resolution."

This resolution comes two weeks after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued its 2017 Annual Report showing that the state of affairs for international religious freedom is worsening around the world. The independent report listed that numerous countries, including North Korea, China, Syria, Vietnam, Iran, and for the first-time, Russia, engage in severe religious freedom violations that are systematic, ongoing, and egregious. According to an April Pew Research Center Study, government restrictions on religion are increasing, and the two geographic regions with the highest government restrictions continue to be the Middle East-North Africa and the Asia-Pacific.

In December 2016, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, a bill authored by Senator Rubio and co-sponsored by Lankford, to strengthen the US' effort to combat persecution of religious minorities.

Yesterday, Lankford spoke about this topic at the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians in Washington, DC.

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