The dramatic intensification of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that commenced February 24, 2022 (with origins that go back to 2014) constitutes a shameful and horrific injustice. In the context of this ongoing conflict, RFI seeks to increase understanding of the religious dynamics of the region — both the thriving landscape of religious pluralism in Ukraine and the many dimensions of religious freedom that have helped to secure and foster it. The resources below address these themes, and RFI will continue to add to them throughout the crisis.
RFI’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team has joined several religious institutions in a friend of the court brief filed in the Supreme Court in support of the religious liberty of Quaker prisoners. The case is Green Haven Preparative Meeting v. New York State Department of Corrections, No. 21-1027.
From February 12-19, RFI’s Vice President for Public Policy, David Trimble, joined Jeremy Barker, Director of RFI’s Middle East Action Team, to lead a series of religious freedom trainings and public events across Iraq.
RFI Excecutive Vice President Eric Patterson recently authored an article published in WORLD titled, “Beijing’s Berlin moment.” In it he draws parallels between the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and asks what should have been done differently in the lead up to the current games, and what should be done now as they begin, to avoid letting “the Olympics overshadow China’s human rights abuses.”
RFI’s Executive Vice President Eric Patterson recently spoke at the 2022 Religious Freedom Annual Review (RFAR), an event sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at the BYU Law School and the Wheatley Institution that brought together nationally recognized policymakers, scholars, and religious leaders to discuss the role of religion and religious freedom in the United States.
In an article published this week in WORLD Magazine, RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson argues that rights of conscience must extend to medical professionals and religious hospitals. He also discusses a state-level legislative effort that has seen recent success in South Carolina, and which is part of a broader Medical Conscience Rights Initiative.
RFI recently filed an amicus brief with Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic to assert that all people — including those who are incarcerated — have a fundamental right to live in accordance with their religious beliefs. The brief was filed in support of a petition asking the Supreme Court to review and reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Smith v. Ward.
In an article published today in Providence, RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson and recent graduate of Regent University and Patterson’s research assistant since 2020, Abigail Lindner, reflect on “G.K. Chesterton and the Patriotism of Flag Day.”
In an article published this week in WORLD Magazine, RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson examines anti-religious “Rejecters” who aim to blot out believers from our nation’s history, a phenomenon described by Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry in their book Taking Back America for God. Patterson explains:
In an article published recently in WORLD Magazine titled, “Eradicating doctrinally orthodox chaplains in the Canadian military,” RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson discusses the troubling recommendation of an advisory panel of the Canadian government to get rid of morally orthodox military chaplains of the “Abrahamic faiths'' for not being “inclusive” enough.
RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson authored an article published today in Providence titled, “G.K. Chesterton on the Necessity of Public Monuments and Memorials” in honor of America’s upcoming Memorial Day observance.
In an article published today in Providence titled, “Canadian Government Panel Advocates Religious Test for Military Chaplains” Paul Marshall critically examines the final report of Canada’s National Defence Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination.
In an article published today in The Globe and Mail titled, “Religious bigotry won’t solve the Canadian military’s discrimination problem” RFI Senior Fellow Andrew Bennett argues:
Eliminating sexism, racism and other social evils from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is a laudable goal. But sadly, the National Defence Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination has recommended an approach that appears to be based in religious bigotry: a theological cleansing of the military’s chaplaincy from some faiths.
In an article published recently in National Post titled, “Euthanasia is a runaway train in Canada. It’s time to hit the brakes” RFI Research Fellow Brian Bird argues against the expansion of the euthanasia license in Canada.
RFI’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team has joined several religious institutions in a friend of the court brief filed in the Supreme Court in support of the religious liberty of Quaker prisoners. The case is Green Haven Preparative Meeting v. New York State Department of Corrections, No. 21-1027.
RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson authored an essay in for Providence this week titled, “G.K. Chesterton’s Lessons for Patriotism and the Olympics.” In it, Patterson discusses Chesterton’s insights on the intersection of patriotism and sports, especially in the context of the Olympics.
Nathan Berkeley, RFI Communications Director, spoke at the Annual Baseball Retreat sponsored by Catholic Athletes for Christ, which was held in November 2021. The event took place at the Franciscan Retreat Center at Old Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, California. The retreat was offered for current and former professional baseball players, coaches, scouts, team chaplains, and others as an opportunity for them to grow in their Catholic faith.
Good afternoon. I’m Tom Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) here in Washington D.C.
Welcome to RFI and to the launch of a critically important new religious freedom organization in the United States — the National Committee for Religious Freedom.
In an article in the December 2021 issue of Legatus Magazine, RFI President Tom Farr urges his fellow Catholics to “Stand strong now, with the God-given weapon of Truth.” Legatus, the organization behind the magazine, is a “community of Catholic executives (and their spouses) who desire to bring Christ to the marketplace.”
Farr insists that a commitment to “Freedom ordered to truth,” and ultimately ordered toward Jesus, who is “Truth Himself,” in the words of Aquinas, should comprehensively shape how Catholics respond to the many adverse cultural and legal forces around them.
In a recent article in Newsweek, Richard Garnett, Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame and RFI FORIS Scholar, and Olivia Rodgers, a second year law student at the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Initiative, write:
The last 18 months have reminded us that, when it comes to educating young people, one size most definitely does not fit all. Pluralism and diversity, not sameness or monopoly, make for a successful schooling enterprise. And, today as in the past, religious schools play a vital role in the project of preparing the citizens and leaders of tomorrow.
Ismail Royer, Director of RFI’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team, recently authored an article for Religion Unplugged on the election of a Muslim mayor and city council in Hamtramk, Michigan — a first for the state and possibly the country. Royer urges reflection on what this event signifies for the health of the polity and, indeed, the very nature of the American constitutional order.
RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson wrote an article this week for WORLD contrasting the momentous influences of the Mayflower Compact of 1620 on America’s founding and constitutional order with “the new ‘idea’ of American history [in] the notorious New York Times 1619 Project.”
RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson authored an article this week for WORLD on the importance of remembering and honoring America’s veterans.
