Vice President JD Vance said religious freedom will be a priority within the Trump administration.
Speaking at the International Religious Freedom Summit at the Washington Hilton, Vance declared, “We remain the world’s largest majority-Christian country, and the right to religious freedom is protected by the people for everybody whether you’re a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or no faith at all.”
“But religious liberty is not simply, as we all know, about legal safeguards, it is also about fostering a culture in which faith can thrive, so that men and women can fully appreciate and respect the God-given rights of their fellow citizens,” he said.
“In China, across Europe, and throughout Africa, and the Middle East, the first Trump administration took critical steps to protect the rights of the faithful, whether that was by rescuing pastors who were persecuted by foreign regimes or bringing relief to Yazidis, Christians, and other faith communities facing genocidal terror from ISIS,” Vance added.
“You shouldn’t have to leave your faith at the door of your people’s government, and under President Trump’s leadership, you won’t have to.”
“Now, our administration believes we must stand for religious freedom, not just as a legal principle, as important as that is, but as a lived reality, both within our own borders and especially outside of it,” he said.
“In recent years, too often has our nation’s international engagement on religious liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the point of absurdity. Think about this: How did America get to the point where we’re sending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars abroad to NGOs that are dedicated to spreading atheism all over the globe?”
Vance stated that the actions of NGOs end “with this administration.”
Describing the difference between “regimes that respect religious freedom and those that do not,” Vance said, “We must be able to look at the catastrophes like the plight of Iraqi Christians over the past three decades and possess the moral to act when something has gone wrong.”
“This administration stands ready to do so,” he declared.
