International Religious Freedom: How Important Is It to America?

April 15, 2009
5:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. EDT
Location: Healy Hall Riggs Library Map

What role should the promotion of international religious freedom play in American foreign policy? This event convened a panel of three experts—Akbar Ahmed, Allen Hertzke, and Andrew Natsios—for a conversation with Thomas Farr about his book World of Faith and Freedom: Why Religious Liberty is Vital to American National Security (2008). The book argues that the advancement of religious freedom should be a central component of U.S. foreign policy, but that it has been neglected over the past decade, despite the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act by Congress in 1998. The conversation touched on several related issues, including relations with the Islamic world, links to international development policy, and the emerging stance of the Obama administration.

The event was co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy.

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