13 October 2006
Religious Freedom a Foreign Policy Issue, U.S. Diplomat Says
State’s Liston discusses how Americans value freedom to practice their faith
Washington – Religious freedom unites people around the world in a way that few other issues do, said Stephen Liston, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom at the U.S. Department of State, in a Democracy Dialogues Webchat October 12.
Religious freedom has been a U.S. policy issue since the founding of the country, Liston said, and remains one of the most sensitive foreign policy matters the United States addresses.
“Wherever we work on this issue, we prefer to do so in a way that respects the importance and centrality of faith to people’s identity,” Liston said. “This often means working quietly with governments behind the scenes to achieve concrete objectives -- getting religious prisoners released, encouraging changes to laws that will allow for greater freedom to worship or encouraging governments to better enforce laws that protect religious minorities from societal abuses.”
In compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, each year the U.S. Department of State submits to Congress the International Religious Freedom report, which examines religious freedom in 197 countries worldwide. The State Department annually designates countries of particular concern (CPCs) for egregious violations of religious freedom by the government. (See related article.)
Under the IRFA, foreign assistance can be cut off to nations where violations of religious freedom occur, Liston said. For example, the United States has some economic sanctions in place against China, designated a CPC every year since 1999. Liston said President Bush regularly raises religious freedom in his meetings with Chinese leaders.
“The freedom to practice one’s faith remains very important to most Americans,” Liston said, “and this is reflected in U.S. foreign policy.”
According to Liston, a recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that most Americans see religion as an integral part of “who we are and how our country operates.”
“It is not our goal to make every state look like ours,” Liston said. “What is essential, from our point of view, is freedom of religion for all.” (See related article.)
Liston joined the U.S. foreign service in 1990 and is director of the Office of International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
The transcript of Liston’s discussion and information on upcoming webchats are available on USINFO’s Webchat Station.
Democracy Dialogues is a global conversation addressing democratic governance through interactive public forums, readings, videos, photos and historical documents, with a new topic introduced every two months.
The 2006 International Religious Freedom Report is available on the State Department Web site.
A Pew Forum report on Americans and religion can be viewed on the organization’s Web site.
For more information, see International Religious Freedom.
