The U.S. Commission of International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is scheduled to close for good tomorrow. Created in 1998, the USCIRF provides recommendations to the State Department and acts as a watch dog on international religious freedom. “…f you eliminate USCIRF, you send a terrible signal internationally that we are less concerned about religious freedom,” Chris Seiple told Christianity Today last week. The elimination of the USCIRF, says Thomas Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University, makes it, “reasonably clear to the persecutors… that advancing religious freedom is not a priority for the United States.”
We know that the persecution of Christians abroad is not a priority for the White House and many in Congress. But we need to make it a priority for ourselves. Please watch and share this video and please pray for the persecuted church.