At a time when religious persecution prompts growing international concern, Christian advocates in the U.S. marked Religious Freedom Day Tuesday by drawing attention to those who do not have the freedoms enjoyed by Americans.
However, some voiced concern that a bill currently before Congress may dilute religious freedom at home too, by threatening free speech under the guise of outlawing "hate crimes."
Last week, President Bush declared Jan. 16 to be Religious Freedom Day, urging Americans to "continue to promote the importance of religious freedom at home and abroad."
Jan. 16 is the day in 1786 when Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom became law.
In a statement marking the day, the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) called on Americans Tuesday to be vigilant.
"Too often in this post-9/11 world, human rights and religious freedom, are sacrificed on the altar of political correctness, diplomacy, and oversensitivity masquerading as tolerance," said IRD's Religious Liberty Director Faith McDonnell.
"In a world where darkness is increasingly being called light and evil called good, we must insure that this injustice is revealed," she said.
McDonnell said every day brought new reports of religious persecution from around the world.
"Millions are discriminated against, beaten and tortured, imprisoned, and killed because they follow Jesus Christ or are members of other minority religions," she said.
As Americans celebrate their own freedoms, McDonnell said, "we must ask God for mercy - and justice - for those who are persecuted for their faith."
According to a recent report by persecution watchdog Release International, 250 million Christians will be persecuted over the course of 2007.
The U.K.-based group said most persecution takes place in parts of the world under Islam, Communism, Hinduism and Buddhism, but that "persecution is growing fastest of all in the Islamic world."
"Governments in even moderate Muslim countries often fail to safeguard the rights of their Christian minorities," Release International said. "Abuses suffered by Christians include kidnapping, forced conversion, imprisonment, church destruction, torture, rape and execution."
The U.S. government does its part to fight religious persecution through the work of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Set up under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the independent panel compiles a list of the most flagrant offenders of religious freedom.
Violators designated as "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPCs) are eligible for U.S. government sanctions or other action aimed at changing their behavior.
Currently, the CPC list comprises Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Burma, North Korea, Sudan, Eritrea and Uzbekistan. The State Department removed Vietnam from the list late last year.
'Hate crimes' concerns
Some Christian advocacy groups worry that religious freedoms may also be at risk in the U.S.
Earlier this month Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) reintroduced a hate crimes bill that has failed to pass several times in the past.
Focus on the Family Action in a statement Tuesday linked the controversial measure to Religious Freedom Day.
"America was founded on religious freedom, and our future greatness as a nation depends on it," said Tom Minnery, the organization's senior vice president of government and public policy.
Minnery said the hate crimes bill "threatens that future by not aggressively prosecuting criminal acts, but by giving Washington the power to decide what constitutes criminal thought."
He said in some states similar legislation had been used "to punish peaceful demonstrators who have made politically incorrect statements." Minnery cited a 2004 case in Pennsylvania, when 11 Christians were arrested and five charged under a state hate crimes law after protesting against a homosexual event.
A spokeswoman for Jackson-Lee said Tuesday the lawmaker had not issued any statement on her bill.
According to the text, "the incidence of violence motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability of the victim poses a serious national problem."
It argues that violence of this type "disrupts the tranquility and safety of communities and is deeply divisive" and says "existing federal law is inadequate to address this problem."
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