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Who Asked You?: The Appropriateness Of U.S. Leadership In Promoting Religious Freedom Worldwide, Nichol J. Starr

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Government endorsed and government imposed religious persecution is a growing phenomenon worldwide. From Central America to the Far East, people are arrested, tortured, and even killed for having and expressing their faith, despite the existence of universal covenants expressing acceptance of religious differences as among the most basic of human rights. Seeing the apparent futility of U.N. and other international efforts to curb such persecution, the U.S. Congress in 1998 passed the International Religious Freedom Act. Faith-based religious persecution--and the United States' role in combating it--first took center stage in American politics during the IRFA's passage, and most recently has …