Skip to main content

Trump Signs International Religious Freedom Executive Order, Approving $50 Million for Programs

Share This article

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump called upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution on Tuesday.  

"Because there is so much religious persecution in the world it also hurts all the other human rights," said Sam Brownback, US Ambassador At Large for Religious Freedom.

In the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order that appropriates $50 million for programs that advance international religious freedom around the world. 

"I think it can be massive, but part of my modeling in this program is wanted to have religious freedom be like the human trafficking issue," Brownback said. "It would be one that embraces everybody and it goes grassroots."

Under the order, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will develop country-specific action plans for prioritizing religious freedom.

To top that, all personnel assigned to positions overseas will now receive international religious freedom training. 

"It makes international religious freedom a whole of government approach on our basic foreign policy apparatus," Brownback said.

The executive order comes as Christian persecution and anti-Semitism are on the rise around the world. 

North Korea, Afghanistan, and Somalia top the list as the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, according to Open Doors USA's 2020 World Watch List

STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FREE CBN NEWS APP! 
Click Here Get the App with Special Alerts on Breaking News and Live Events!

Share This article

About The Author

Ben
Kennedy

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning White House correspondent for CBN News in Washington, D.C. He has more than a decade of reporting experience covering breaking news nationwide. He's traveled cross country covering the President and scored exclusive interviews with lawmakers and White House officials. Kennedy spent seven years reporting for WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida. While there he reported live from Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Matthew hit the island. He was the first journalist to interview Diana Nyad moments after her historic swim from Cuba to Key West. He reported