GERMANY – Scientologists have had a particularly difficult time in Europe where many view them as a nuisance for their recruiting activities.  When they opened a new 43,000 square foot facility […]
A Threat to Universal Human Rights Standards November 11, 2009 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In advance of the upcoming vote on this issue in the UN General Assembly, USCIRF today […]
Health insurance works by protecting your assets from the high cost of medical care. Without it, your entire life savings could be wiped out by a $300,000 medical bill. It’s […]
On October 25, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the annual International Religious Freedom Report, on behalf of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and […]
While the U.S. can summon hard power with relative ease, employing soft power is more difficult. Indeed, smart power suggests that hard and soft power are two sides of the same coin, that our interests are protected when our values are promoted. If Americans want to engage the world with efficient and enduring effect, we must better understand the essence of American power and the foundation of the global public square: religious freedom.
Since their formation in the late 19th century, Jehovah’s Witnesses have suffered relentless persecution worldwide for their controversial religious beliefs. Archibald Cox, Jr., famous for his role as the Watergate prosecutor that helped force the resignation of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, once noted that Jehovah’s Witnesses were “the principal victims of religious persecution … in the twentieth century.â Persecution against Witnesses was especially strong during WWII when their political neutrality, conscientious objection to war, and refusal to salute any nation’s flag made them the target of governments and citizen mob groups alike. Except for the Jews, they were proportionally the most persecuted group in Nazi Germany; they were banned during the war in countries like Russia and Spain, and sometimes beaten and jailed in places like Britain, Canada, Cuba, and the United States. The ACLU reported that by 1940 in the United States alone, “more than 1,500 Witnesses . . . had been victimized in 335 separate attacks.â
Sister Janet Fearns, communications coordinator of Missio writes about the extent of religious persecution in Pakistan. A link to the full article follows this excerpt: ‘I am sorry I could not […]
The main purpose for writing this article is to respond to the relentless attempts in recent times to legislate in the European Union, Sunday as an official weekly rest day. The lobbyists championing this cause have been among other associations, the Roman Catholic Bishops (COMECE), some Protestants church representatives and certain Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).[1] I will now provide a synopsis of the background on this issue and show how it has developed to the present day.
You may recall that Pastor Stephen Boissoin got himself in hot water with the Alberta Human Rights Commission when he wrote a letter to the editor of the Red Deer […]
EXCERPT: A single clause in Point 19 of the communiquĂ© issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order. “We have agreed to support a general […]