The Future of U.S. Religious Freedom Policy: Recommendations for the New Administration

The Berkley Center hosted the third of three symposia commemorating the tenth anniversary of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Act in October 2008. Panelists addressed US IRF policy as it relates to democracy promotion, civil society, religion-based terrorism, law (domestic and international) and public diplomacy. The previous two symposia, on the origins of the act and its implementation, were held in February and April 2008. The series culminated in a brief, "The Future of U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy: Recommendations for the Obama Administration," that was distributed widely within the policy community during the first half of 2009. The seminars and the publication were supported by the Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs and the Institute for Global Engagement. The John Templeton Foundation provided additional funding.

This seminar series was co-sponsored by the Council for America's First Freedom; Council on Foreign Relations; Ethics and Public Policy Center; Human Rights Watch; International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University; Leonard Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life; and the Religious Liberties Practice Group of the Federalist Society.

SCHEDULE

Opening Remarks | Thomas Banchoff, Chris Seiple

Panel 1: US International Religious Freedom Policy and Religious Extremism | Rick Santorum, William Schulz, Chris Seiple

Panel 2: US International Religious Freedom Policy and Public Diplomacy | William A. Galston, Dennis Hoover, Jennifer Marshall

Panel 3: US International Religious Freedom Policy and Democracy | Thomas Farr, Daniel Philpott, Marc Plattner

Panel 4: US International Religious Freedom Policy and Civil Society | Carroll Bogert, Andrew Natsios, Elizabeth Prodromou, Mark Silk

Panel 5: US International Religious Freedom Policy and the Law | Hadley Arkes, Cole Durham, T. Jeremy Gunn, William L. Saunders, Jr., David Saperstein