Donald Trump, Viktor Orban become Defenders of the Faith.

US forms coalition to defend religious freedom. Secretary of State names China as hostile to religion.

Hungary calls ‘To demolish the wall of silence surrounding persecuted Christians.’

What do you think Hillary Clinton would be doing for religious liberty if Christian voters had followed Russell Moore’s advice and abstained from supporting Trump?

The United States and a coalition of states will fight religious oppression around the world, the State Department announced February 5. In a speech delivered by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to a high-level group including foreign ministers of several states, China was singled out for its brutal treatment of religious dissidents. Pompeo revealed that China used diplomatic pressure to attempt to prevent some states from joining the group.

“We condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s hostility to all faiths. We know several of you courageously pushed back against Chinese pressure by agreeing to be part of this Alliance, and we thank you for that,” Pompeo said

The states forming to defend religious liberty include the United Kingdom, Hungary, Poland and many others. Here’s the list.

According to the a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, The Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Togo, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom joined the United States to create the first-of-its-kind International Religious Freedom Alliance. Together, we have pledged to uphold the Declaration of Principles, solidifying our collective commitment to object and oppose, publicly and privately, all abuses or violations of religious freedom.”

According to the State Department, “The formation of the Alliance marks the first time in history an international coalition has come together at a national leadership level to push the issue of religious freedom forward around the world. Egregious perpetrators of religious persecution have long operated with impunity. The Alliance will unify powerful nations and leverage their resources to stop bad actors and advocate for the persecuted, the defenseless, and the vulnerable. The threats to religious freedom are global. They require global participation and global solutions.”

According to Daily News Hungary, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said his country does not approve of the “blind eye” given to the persecution of Christians around the world by international organizations.

Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary and the world’s highest profile Calvinist, recently spoke of his nation’s determination to defend Christianity. It was a theme reiterated by his delegation in Washington, D.C.

“The Hungarian government is not capable of saving all of the Christians who are being discriminated against and persecuted in over 80 countries around the world, and nobody can expect this of us”, the State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the Realization of the Hungary Helps Program Tristan Azbej said. “The goal of our mission it to also mobilize other governments in the interests of the cause, and this requires that we demolish the wall of silence surrounding persecuted Christians.

Poland hosts the Third Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. In a Joint Statement released by the United States and Poland, the meetings will be “organized in close cooperation” with the US, the statement said.

According to the official Joint Statement, “Participants will address a range of critical issues, such as improving the lives of persecuted and discriminated communities, empowering individuals to affect change, and promoting inclusive dialogue to mobilize action and increase awareness regarding the scale of persecution against religion or belief worldwide.”

This type of high level attention is important as oppression seems once again on the march with totalitarian crackdowns on dissident populations in key states like China.

Oh, and as a reminder: What do you think Hillary Clinton would be doing for religious liberty if Christian voters had followed Russell Moore’s advice and abstained from supporting Trump?

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