By Emily Drooby
President Trump urged world leaders to protect people of faith in a keynote speech delivered at the United Nations on September 23.
“Today with one clear voice the U.S. calls upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution,” Trump said.
“No right is more fundamental through a peaceful, prosperous and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions. Regrettably, the religious freedom enjoyed by citizens is rare in the world,” he added.
Now the president is backing up his words with action by pledging 25 million dollars to protect faithful people, religious sites and relics.
The president has also put together a coalition of U.S. businesses for the protection of religious freedom that will protect people of all faiths in their workplaces.
“True tolerance means respecting the right of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs,” Trump said. According to the president, 80 percent of the world’s population live in areas where religion is threatened or restricted.
From the Easter Sunday bombings of Christian churches in Sri Lanka to the anti-semitic mass shootings in the United States and worshippers gunned down while praying in Christchurch, New Zealand, the crisis has continued to grow.
“These evil attacks are a wound on all humanity. We must all work together to protect communities of every faith,” Trump said while speaking to an audience of world leaders and survivors of religious persecution.
While the president expressed concern for all religions, he remained focused on Christian persecution, saying that an estimated 11 Christians are killed daily for their faith, a violence that many call genocide.