Since I wrote about human rights in the last post, I thought
it well to provide you with a partial list of organizations that monitor and
create action possibilities on issues of religious freedom. Note that I said “partial.” I know there are
many more out there, but I don’t have their information at hand.
The major one missing is the Roman Catholic Church, which is
all over the place in many shapes and forms, including dioceses, congregations,
orders, etc. I just don’t have the time right now to dig into their world. It
deserves an entire post for itself. And if we were to go international, you
would find hundreds of such Christian websites from all over the world,
possibly thousands even.
Check out these websites and you will see a group of very
activistic organizations that pursue human rights with great drive and energy
without ever flagging. You now have access to a whole new world and may well be
surprised at the range, variety and depth of human rights activities in the
North American Christian community.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada is exactly what it
says. One of its major points of concentration is the legal protection and
defense of liberty throughout all segments of Canadian society. Additional EFC
addresses are:
Faith Today is EFC’s bi-monthly magazine in which stories about
the above are featured.
www.EFC.ca/TakeAction is a guide to
taking actions on social issues, including how to contact your MP—Member of
Parliament.
www.theEFC.ca/activateCFPL
accesses the EFC’s law and public policy blog.
ARPA stands for “Association for Reformed Political
Action,” “Reformed” being another word
for “Calvinist.” It does very similar
work to that of EFC, but its base is narrower—Reformed churches, and not even
all of them. In distinction from most of
the others in this list, ARPA is not owned by any church or groups of churches;
it is a group of Reformed church members.
It sees itself as a partner to the advocacy programmes of EFC.
The Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House defends
against religious persecution of all groups throughout the world. Its website provides news, action alerts, and
background materials.
The U.S. State Department submits and posts a detailed
192-country annual report on international religious freedom.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was
created by the International Religious Freedom Act to monitor religious freedom
in other countries and to advise the President and Congress on policies to
promote it. Its report and website
feature only a few countries but go beyond description to policy
recommendations.
The Center for Public Justice has launched the Coalition to
Preserve Religious Freedom as a multi-faith alliance of faith-based
organizations devoted to preserving the freedom and autonomy of religious
organizations that partner with government or are affected by government
regulation.
Citizens for Public Justice is a national, nonpartisan
organization that promotes justice in Canadian public affairs. CPJ is convinced
that Canada
needs to engage in serious reflection on core values and their implications for
our public life together--the common good.
Without such debate, the public sphere will continue to be a place for
groups to advance their particular interests rather than come to meaningful
consensus on how to address important public issues.
Visit this site for information on what the Christian
Reformed Church in both Canada
and the United States
is doing to promote justice and religious freedom around the world. It also includes resources on the persecuted
church.
Forum 18 promotes the implementation of the religious
freedom described in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Its website has a searchable
archive of its news articles on the most serious infractions of religious
freedom--usually of worship--that affect people of all faiths.
Religious rights is one of the global issues tracked by
Human Rights Watch. The website includes
analysis, news, reports, and speeches.
The Religion and Peacemaking Initiative of the United States
Institute of Peace facilitates partnerships among faith-based organizations in
the resolution of international disputes.
Current and archived programs, events, workshops, and publications are
available on the website.
The Canadian Council of Churches engages in a wide range of
advocacy. It shares Christ’s mission for reconciliation, peace, dignity and
justice for the whole community.
National Council of Churches in the USA.
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