FACULTY LEADER
Thomas Farr
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
June 2009"The Bush Administration and America's International Religious Freedom Policy"
March 2009
The Future of U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy: Recommendations for the Obama Administration
December 2008
Report of the Georgetown Symposia on U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy
more publications >
RELATED EVENTS
November 3, 2009Symposium on Religion & Democracy in the Foreign Policy of the Obama Administration
April 15, 2009
International Religious Freedom – How Important is it to America?
March 24, 2009
From Iraq to Pakistan: The Arc of Turbulence
more events >
An interactive guide to religion as it relates to society and politics around the world. Explore by:
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> Undergraduate Fellows
> Junior Year Abroad Network
> Undergraduate Learning and Interreligious Understanding
> Faith Complex
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> Islam and the West
> Just Law and Religion
> The God Vote
> This Catholic's View
> Unorthodoxy
Religion and US Foreign PolicyBoth the practice and analysis of US foreign policy has traditionally marginalized religious questions. With the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, the Center explores the role of religion in US policy, with special attention to issues of human rights and international religious freedom. |
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RELATED PROJECTS
The International Religious Freedom Act: Ten Years LaterIn October 1998 Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The IRFA mandated the promotion of religious liberty around the world as a central element of American foreign policy. In 2008 three symposia at Georgetown examined the origins and promise (February 25), performance (April 21), and future (October 10) of IRF policy. Experts from across the spectrum of American public life—scholars, policymakers, activists, and journalists—as well as informed officials and observers from around the globe, will address the strengths, the weaknesses, and the prospects of a policy designed to advance international religious freedom.
Proselytism as a Policy Challenge
Proselytism in an increasingly important and controversial issue in international affairs -- and has not received the attention it deserves. In a globalizing world, governments and religious communities navigating the tensions between the rights of the individual to enter and exit religious communities and the rights of religious communities to defend and maintain their identity. The proselytism as a Policy Challenge project will explore these issues through major conferences in spring 2010 and spring 2011. The first conference will bring religious leaders together and focus on recent efforts to construct voluntary codes of conduct that distinguish between aggressive proselytism and permissible missionary work. The second will convene scholars working within religious studies, law, and political science with policymakers to discuss the democratic strategies for achieving cultural support and political protections for peaceful competition among religious communities.
Religion, Democracy, and US Diplomacy
This project explores the intersection of religion with US efforts to promote democracy around the world, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities facing the Obama administration. Key issues include: the role of religious communities in US democracy programs and policies; and the relationship of religion to democratic stability around the world; and how best to support democratic evolution in Muslim-majority societies, a key challenge in the wake of Obama's May 2009 Cairo speech. Project activities include two major conferences -- in fall 2009 and fall 2010 -- as well as the development of online knowledge resources that map key actors and issues.
Religious Sources of Foreign Policy
The Project on the Religious Sources of Foreign Policy (2007-08) brought together thought leaders and policymakers to explore the practical challenges posed by the impact of domestic religious forces on international affairs. Through a series of symposia -- on Evangelicals and US foreign policy (March 2007); Islam, Constitutions, and Durable Democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan (September 2007); and on Israeli Politics, Society Politics and Foreign Policy (January 2008) -- the project examined the ways in which different national understandings of religion and its governance are impacting national foreign policies and international diplomacy. Each of the symposia led to a published report outlining the key issues and controversies.
