Religious freedom an overlooked topic. (Convention Panels).

Issues involving religious freedom will be the "toughest issues facing the majority of nations" outside of the United States during the 21st century, and for that reason the subject is a "ripe product for editorial writers," according to two expert panelists.

Mark O'Keefe, of the Newhouse News Service, described a rare five-month assignment he received in 1998 from his former employer, The Oregonian. With virtual carte blanche authorization from his bosses, he traveled to five diverse nations to document and put into context "the complicated issue of persecution of Christians around the globe." From China and Burma, through Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, O'Keefe uncovered stories of faith and religious resolve in the face of intense persecution, including imprisonment, torture, and oppression.

"My reporting focused on Christians because they're the majority in this country where my stories would be read' said O'Keefe. "But, in no way, is the problem of religious persecution limited to one religion or culture."

O'Keefe's stories were billed by The Oregonian as "the first in-depth look at the issue by an American newspaper."

He described China's vast network of underground churches where leaders are constantly on the run and often imprisoned for their beliefs and religious activism. He told of Pakistan's constitutional prohibition against blasphemy, which can create a lifetime of problems for those citizens who aren't Muslim. While Egypt proclaims a degree of religious freedom, said O'Keefe, attempts to change religions or convert from Islam to Christianity can lead to imprisonment and torture.

Claiming this is an area "largely overlooked by editorial writers," O'Keefe encouraged his listeners to take a look at issues involving religious freedom "because they will resonate with your readers. People with strong faith convictions connect with these issues and these kinds of stories."

Joining O'Keefe on the panel was Tom Farr, director of the U.S. State Department's Office on International Freedom, a man assigned to promote the concept of religious freedom among the nations of the world.

Farr views religious freedom as a fundamental, inalienable human right, one that is essential if democracy is to flourish.

America, he said, "is a country where religious pluralism is a reality and we cherish it. While all nations have religion laws, virtually no country on Earth approaches religion the way we do."

In most nations, he observed, the idea of choice in religion is an alien concept.

Farr offered six reasons why the State Department strategy of promoting freedom of religion throughout the world is in the best interests of the United States.

"First, it is part of our national character' he said. "We have religious freedom. We wouldn't be true to ourselves if we didn't promote it throughout the world."

"Secondly, this is not an American invention." He pointed to the Jeffersonian concept that freedom of religion was not created by man, but is endowed upon the human race by a Creator. He called religious freedom "an international norm.

"By promoting religious freedom," Farr claimed for his third point, "we are promoting other individual rights, including the right of every human being to freely ask questions. A person who doesn't have this right is living less than a full life."

He described his fourth reason as the most important: "When we promote religious freedom we promote democracy. We are promoting the very foundation of democracy and governments that get it right will be better."

Farr's fifth reason relates to the current war on terrorism.

"When we promote religious freedom, we are promoting the war against religion-based international terrorism. More and more groups define their terrorist goals through religion, and such ideas don't develop as easily in nations where there is religious freedom."

Finally, Farr said, America should do all it can to promote religious freedom, which he described as "the toughest issue facing a majority of nations in the 21st century" Nations, he said, need to understand how this fundamental human right works.

NCEW member Duane V. Cardall is director of editorials at KSLAM/TV in Salt Lake City. E-mail him at [e-mail]