The Trump administration has fulfilled yet another promise to prioritize religious freedom. Next week in D.C., the State Department will hold the largest, highest-level summit on international religious freedom, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act. Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to speak, alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.
The event, titled as a “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom” will take place over the course of three days (July 24-26), and bring together foreign ministers, civil society organizations, and key religious leaders from all over the world to come together to discuss this issue and make an action plan to advance religious freedom globally.
According to the State Department, promoting and defending religious freedom is a priority for the Trump administration. “We will convene government and religious leaders, rights advocates, and civil society from around the world to discuss challenges, identify concrete means to push back against persecution and discrimination, and ensure greater respect for religious freedom for all.”
This is incredibly significant for the U.S. and underscores our country’s dedication to fundamental human rights and the inalienable right of every person to freely and openly exercise beliefs and freedom of conscience. Protecting this fundamental right is precisely why our founders enshrined free exercise of religion in our Constitution. The goal of this summit will be to engage the international conversation and the State Department has invited top religious liberty leaders and advocates to hold official “side events” during the summit on specific issues within the context of religious freedom.
As one of the most influential religious liberty leaders and advocates for more than 40 years in America, Dr. James Dobson (my boss) remains at the forefront to protect religious freedom for the family. The Dobson Policy Center has joined with ADF International to cosponsor a side event on the importance of parental rights in the context of religious liberty.
Dobson said today, “Focusing on parental rights specifically is important to me because the family is the central institution of a moral society. Nothing is more critical than safeguarding the freedom to raise our children in a culture where faith and family are protected as God-given rights.”
The James Dobson Family Institute’s executive director, Dr. Tim Clinton, will be speaking at the event on the importance of protecting a parent’s fundamental right to make critical decisions including counseling and healthcare. “It’s encouraging that people from all over the world are now openly supporting religious freedom and a new platform to discuss this issue is being built by the Trump administration. This event will set the stage for new frontiers and expansion of religious liberty for the family for decades and generations to come,” Dr. Clinton said.
ADF International’s CEO and general counsel, Michael Farris, has been an ardent advocate for the family, founding the Home School Legal Defense Association in 1983 and advancing parental rights in the context of school choice and religious freedom. Farris will also speak at the side event and said, “Parental responsibilities are among our most important duties. Religious liberty and parental rights are inextricably bound and essential for true freedom and flourishing. Religious liberty cannot be left at the threshold when one enters the home. It is the obligation as well as the duty of every government to recognize and guarantee these fundamental human rights.”
Jenna Ellis (@jennaellisJDFI) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is Director of Public Policy at the James Dobson Family Institute. She is a constitutional law attorney, radio host, and the author of The Legal Basis for a Moral Constitution. She can be reached at [email protected].
