Trump Executive Order Provides $50 Million to Advance Religious Freedom Worldwide

Calling it a “moral and national security imperative,” President Trump issued an executive order Tuesday providing $50 million to promote religious freedom around the world and to pressure countries that are the worst violators to change their policies.

The order provides at least $50 million per fiscal year for “programs that advance international religious freedom,” according to the order’s text. The State Department and USAID – an agency of the federal government – will decide where the money goes.

“Such programs shall include those intended to anticipate, prevent, and respond to attacks against individuals and groups on the basis of their religion,” says the order, which was labeled an “Executive Order on Advancing International Religious Freedom.”

The $50 million also will be used to:

• “ensure that such [religious] groups can persevere as distinct communities;
• “promote accountability for the perpetrators of such attacks;
• “ensure equal rights and legal protections for individuals and groups regardless of belief;
• “improve the safety and security of houses of worship and public spaces for all faiths; and,
• “protect and preserve the cultural heritages of religious communities” around the world.

The order requires the Secretary of State, within 180 days and with the consultation of USAID, to “develop a plan to prioritize international religious…