This month, President Trump signed an executive order to prioritized religious freedom in the U.S. foreign policy and assistance programs. The new order allocates at least $50 million per year for programs that promote international religious freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cReligious freedom for all people worldwide is a foreign policy priority of the United States, and the United States will respect and vigorously promote this freedom,\u201d the order stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), develop a plan to prioritize international religious freedom in the planning and implementation of United States foreign policy and in the foreign assistance programs of the Department of State and USAID.\u201d<\/p>\n
It’s reported that 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious liberty is either threatened or banned.<\/p>\n
Trump signed the order at the White House after a visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
A senior administration official told The New York Post, “the document intends to enforce the Trump administration\u2019s advocacy for religious minorities abroad”.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president was clear when he called upon \u2018the nations of the world to end religious persecution,’\u201d the official said. \u201cThis executive order fully integrates the president\u2019s vision \u2014 a vigorous defense of International Religious Freedom rights for all \u2014 into key aspects of United States foreign policy.\u201d
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