In early December, he and fellow members of the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sharply criticized the Clinton administration’s response to abuses worldwide. It was, they said, hesitant and inconsistent.
Yes, they pointed out, there has been progress in some areas linking our foreign policy to religious rights since the International Religious Freedom Act took effect two years ago. But…
Money still talks. Apparently, at times, loud enough to drown out the voices of people facing religious persecution.
The commission noted that the State Department’s annual report on religious freedom describes several countries where conditions have gotten worse but American policy toward them hasn’t changed.
Take China, for example. The State Department “bluntly and accurately reports that the Chinese government’s attitude toward religious freedom has deteriorated and persecution of religious minorities has increased,” the commission said.
Still, the drive by the Clinton administration and the majorities of both the House and Senate for permanent normal trade-relation status for China chugs right along. Lot of people there. Lot of potential customers for U.S. companies. Lot of profit.
Even as it scolded our leaders for low grades, the commission graciously excused them, in part, because the idea of integrating religious freedom concerns into foreign policy itself is new.
It’s not that these folks don’t care, the commission stressed. It’s just that, so far, they aren’t doing a good job translating concern into action.
The president, members said, should be taking advantage of the executive spotlight to shine attention on those countries where abuses are taking place. And the government in general should be taking stronger stands, especially with close allies that are deemed American-friendly but aren’t religious-freedom-friendly.
Now the new president and Congress have the opportunity to begin taking the next step. But it doesn’t seem likely public sentiment will be hounding them to do so. Or even suggesting they do so.
After all, religious freedom – by and large taken for granted here – is generally lumped into the messy category of church and state. There will be no outcry from editorialists and political action groups because locking up a fervent Baptist or Muslim isn’t like harpooning a whale.
Who will raise a voice in the United States? Religious groups. Many already considered suspect because they are religious groups. Others already consistently ignored because, critics contend, religions have no right to legislate “their morality.” But that, of course, isn’t what freedom of religion is about.
So who will report what’s happening worldwide? A few non-mainstream members of the media. Who will read or listen to those reports? A handful of Americans.
For too many others, freedom of religion simply isn’t on a par with freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, freedom to petition the government after getting a raw deal.
No, turning a myopic if not blind eye to abuses of religious freedom is seen as the cost of doing business.
But, as Archbishop McCarrick and his colleagues have pointed out, in some countries the cost is too high.
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Bill Dodds’ latest books are Your One-Stop Guide to How Saints Are Made and Your One-Stop Guide to the Mass (Servant Publications); and 1440 Reasons to Quit Smoking: One for Every Minute of the Day and What You Don't Know About Retirement: A Funny Retirement Quiz (Meadowbrook Press). His website is http://www.BillDodds.com. You can email him at BillDodds@BillDodds.com.
