Commentary: Championing America’s First Freedom

Person waving flag outside of window

The right to worship freely is often called America’s first freedom.  Our founding fathers understood religious freedom not as the state’s creation but as an unalienable right from God.

This universal right is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.”

Today, however, religious freedom is threatened or restricted entirely for millions of people around the world.  Over 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with high or severe restrictions on religious freedom.  In far too many places across the globe, governments and others prevent individuals from living in accordance with their beliefs.

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U.S. State Department Resettles Over 1,000 Afghan Refugees During Coronavirus Pandemic: REPORT

In the past month, the State Department resettled over a thousand refugees from Afghanistan, even though the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program was temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in refugee camps overseas, including in Greece, where a migrant camp had to be quarantined after 23 asylum seekers tested positive for the coronavirus.

The pause on refugee admissions was expected to last from March 19 through April 6, but according to Ann Corcoran of Refugee Resettlement Watch,  1,003 Afghan refugees were resettled during that approximate time period.

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President Trump Optimistic About Summit with North Korea’s Kim

Trump - Kim Summit

President Donald Trump says he is optimistic about his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, over U.S. efforts to end the threat of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons arsenal. “We both expect a continuation of the progress made at first Summit in Singapore. Denuclearization?” Trump said in a Twitter message…

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Promoting Religious Liberty Affirms ‘Human Dignity,’ Pompeo Tells Values Voter Summit

by Fred Lucas   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed Friday that the Trump administration is committed to religious liberty, both at home and abroad. Speaking at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington, Pompeo said that more than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries that place…

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Mattis Backs Up Trump’s Strong Words On Iran

by Evie Fordham   Secretary of Defense James Mattis backed up President Donald Trump’s fiery message about Iran at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California, on Tuesday. “[Iran] cannot continue to show irresponsibility as some revolutionary organization that is intent on exporting terrorism, exporting disruption across the region,” Mattis said, reported The…

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Pompeo: North Korea Can Replicate Vietnam’s Ties with US

Mike Pompeo, Kim Jong Un

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged North Korea on Sunday to replicate Vietnam in forging a new relationship with the United States, much like Hanoi has done five decades after the Vietnam War against the U.S. ended. The top U.S. diplomat, visiting the Vietnamese capital after two days of…

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