In an article published recently in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s First Freedom Blog, RFI President Tom Farr writes, “In the 21st century, religious freedom is under growing pressure around the world, including in the United States. This alarming development should matter to all of us.” Farr continues, “Any assault on religious freedom is an assault on our right, given by God, to seek the truth about God and man, and to exercise our duty to live our lives in accord with that truth.”

Farr provides an account of the “rise and fall of religious freedom in the twentieth century” before turning to the deteriorating situation today, both abroad and in the United States, which has far-reaching consequences. Farr writes:

Unfortunately, despite international acknowledgement of the importance of religious freedom since World War II, and many attempts to protect it in law, scores of millions of religious people and their communities are today deprived of religious freedom. There are reasons for concern in the United States as well. The decline of religious freedom here is critically important for its own sake, but it also weakens American leadership in defending religious freedom around the world – from China to Nigeria, and from Russia to Ukraine.

Read the full article: The Travail of International Religious Freedom, and of US Leadership.