On 2 March 2016, a seminar held at the UK Parliament, and hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Baha’i Faith, heard that there is a strong correlation between religious freedom, economic freedom, and other civil political freedoms.

An emerging body of research is suggesting that ensuring such freedoms within business could not only address a major social ill, but also be an unrecognized asset to economic recovery and growth.

“These findings are useful in our discussions with business,” said panelist Professor Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. “And there’s a lot that the business world can offer to the human rights community.”

Business leaders and entrepreneurs, it was suggested, might develop a long-term interest in engaging with this area of the international human rights discourse, while their perspectives on these matters might also add an important dimension to the understanding of government and parliamentarians.

“Business is the crossroads of culture, commerce, and creativity. What brings everyone together and produces a successful service, innovation, or production is a common goal,” said Prof. Grim, who highlighted the efforts of one major automobile manufacturer which, realizing it employs people from almost 140 countries, offers an annual award for intercultural and interfaith innovation.

The seminar, which attracted parliamentarians, civil servants, academics, human rights activists, business professionals, and faith community leaders was opened by Jim Shannon MP (pictured), who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental component of peace and stability,” Mr. Shannon said. “Without religious freedom, talented people are pushed away.”

The matter needs to move up the political agenda, Mr. Shannon said, to ensure greater economic prosperity, stability, and security.

Also on the panel was Baroness Anelay of St Johns, the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She said, with intolerance increasing around the world, this commitment is needed more than ever.

(Pictured: Baroness Anelay of St Johns, the Minister of State at the Commonwealth Office, addressing the Seminar on Freedom of Religion and Economic Prosperity, held at Westminster, 2 March 2016. With intolerance increasing around the world, she said the commitment to freedom of religion and belief is needed more than ever.)

“Freedom of religion or belief is not just an optional extra alongside the broad spectrum of human rights. It is a key human right in and of itself,” she said. “Where freedom of religion or belief is not fully respected, it follows that democratic values and the rule of law are not fully implemented.” One of the keys to success is education, she said. “We need to ensure that children appreciate from the earliest age that everyone must be valued equally.”

Another panelist, Dr. Nazila Ghanea—Associate Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford—stressed the importance of every individual having the freedom to decide whether or not to adopt a religion or belief.

“The prerequisite to freedom of religion and belief is the freedom to independently investigate the truth and adopt a belief, be it religious or not,” said Dr. Ghanea.

Referring to the Baha’i International Community document Freedom to Believe, Dr. Ghanea quoted, “The primary task of the soul will always be to investigate reality, to live in accordance with the truths of which it becomes persuaded, and to accord full respect to the efforts of others to do the same.”

Dr. Ghanea asked how such values can be advanced, noting that efforts to transfer standards across different cultures can lead to resistance.

“International standards need to be digested in a meaningful way and people need to make them their own,” she said. “Consultation is a very important way of trying to ingrain values in neighborhoods and societies.”

Participatory discussion groups were then held where innovative ideas were explored to enhance awareness, support religious freedom, and equip businesses with tools and ideas.

The seminar is intended to be the first step in a longer process to build a deeper conceptual understanding of issues of freedom of religion or belief in British political life and society.

Speakers

Rt Hon Baroness Anelay DBE, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Professor Brian J Grim, President, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation

Dr Nazila Ghanea, Lecturer in International Human Rights, University of Oxford

The seminar will feature a panel discussion with the Minister and academic experts followed by facilitated workshops to draw on the views and knowledge of all those attending. Light refreshments will be served on arrival and between the panel and the workshops.

This event is intended as the first of a longer process of activity to build a deeper conceptual understanding of issues of freedom of religion or belief in British political life and society.

Date: Wednesday 2 March

Time: 09.00 am – 13.00 pm

Location: MacMillan Suite, Portcullis House, SW1A 2LW

Background

Religious freedom, or the lack of it, has emerged as one of the major challenges to human rights in the early 21st century. International developments including intra-state conflict, state-sponsored repression and terrorism have increased as drivers for religious intolerance across the world and particularly in territories affected by the conflicts that have intensified in recent years.

In an increasingly interdependent world, the transnational links between religious communities and diasporas allows hostilities from conflicts in one part of the world to increase tensions in other lands. These events have infused momentum for the protection and promotion of the rights of freedom of religion or belief, including for those of no faith. Whilst religious diversity is being denuded from some parts of the planet, it is growing in other parts of the world, including Europe and North America.

Tensions between religious minorities and host communities are posing questions of what model any given society should pursue towards greater social cohesion and integration. This seminar will examine assumptions underpinning the concept of freedom of religion or belief and identify barriers to the full acceptance of this right at the level of a universal value.

Throughout the event, innovative ideas that equip business communities with tools, which have the potential to enhance awareness and to support religious freedom will be shared. The seminar aims to offer a contribution to the wider discourse on freedom of religion or belief, and how this relates to economic prosperity.

Please RSVP to receptions@bahai.org.uk to confirm your attendance.

UPDATED: March 2, 2016: Brian Grim spoke on the connection between religious freedom, sustainable development and mercy at this month’s fifth International Leaders Forum at the Vatican. His comments were delivered at the Pontifical University Urbaniana on February 28.

Grim’s talk is titled:

Mercy, Sustainable Development and Religious Freedom: The Harmony of Caritas in Veritate, Dives in Misericordia, Laudato Si’, and Dignitatis Humanae

FULL TEXT

He argues that we will lose the struggle for religious freedom if we focus only on legal and legislative approaches. This is because (a) they do not address the rising tide of social hostilities involving religion, and (b) it misses the greatest argument for religious freedom, i.e., that it depends on mercy and love. 

He makes this argument from a point of view as a Catholic and as a global expert on the scientific study of religious freedom.

Main points:

Mercy and love are essential to religious freedom. Indeed, in the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, mercy and love provide critical – but underemphasized – theological foundations for religious freedom. The declaration promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965, asserts that there can be no compulsion in matters of religion and it roots the rightness of this freedom in human dignity, with the fundamental basis of this assertion being the mercy and love of Christ. Specifically, Dignitatis Humanae (section 11, paragraph 2b) states:

For [Christ] bore witness to the truth, but He refused to impose the truth by force on those who spoke against it. Not by force of blows does His rule assert its claims. It is established by witnessing to the truth and by hearing the truth, and it extends its dominion by the love whereby Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws all men to Himself.

In short, religious freedom is “right” because the love of Christ shown in the mercy extended to all through the cross is to be embraced freely and not through coercion.

He argues that if (a) social hostilities involving religion are now a greater challenge to religious freedom than government restrictions on religious freedom; and if (b) a majority of those outside of religious communities no longer see religion – and therefore religious freedom – as a basic force for good in society; then (c) we need a social approach to religious freedom that focuses on the main purpose of religious freedom – setting people of faith free to be incarnation of mercy and love, because, when people of faith are guided by and act on their conscience with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:23).

This means that religious freedom must be much more than just protecting the dual “negative rights” of immunity from coercion in conscience and immunity from being impeded from acting in conformity with conscience. Religious freedom must be advanced by people of faith, motivated by their faith, working wholeheartedly for the common good.

In other words, the best way of advancing religious freedom today is not through legislation and litigation – though they play a part – but through the authentic love of neighbor (and even enemy) in response to the mercy and love of God to us all.

FULL TEXT

“Religious freedom is good for business & business is good for religious freedom.” Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, will make the case this week at the Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum (APRFF), an invitation-only gathering of parliamentarians, government representatives, civic and religious leaders from across the globe who are committed to advancing religious freedom in the Asia Pacific (see APRFF on Twitter and Facebook).

Grim will make the economic case for religious freedom on the heels of his other recent high profile briefings, including with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the organizer of the Marrakesh Declaration on protections for minorities in Islamic lands, Shaykh Bin Bayyah.

In a recent article in Forbes, Grim along with Brian Walsh argue that even though the United States is still the world’s largest economy, today two Asian countries—neither historically nor majority Christian—have the second and third largest economies. The Pacific Rim as a whole, one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions on earth, is now also one of the most economically dynamic. The strength of the global economy has become religiously diverse, and this diversity will only increase in the next few decades.

According to a new study by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, the globe’s growing religious diversity is likely to be one of the 21st century’s most important developments for businesses and policymakers around the world. Burgeoning religious populations with greater wealth will have greater political influence, and this has the potential to either undermine or enhance social stability and economic strength.

To navigate this new economic landscape well—and to ensure continued economic growth—it will be vital that national and business leaders emphasize the protection of minority groups’ human rights, especially the rights and liberties of all religious groups. Government protection for the dignity and freedoms of all religious groups is the only way to ensure the full economic participation and prosperity of these groups as they also interact in new ways, and do so in free and peaceful environments.

Grim will also argue that businesses are uniquely situated to solve problems caused by religious restrictions and hostilities because they are at the crossroads of culture, commerce and creativity. Indeed, they have a vested interest because religious freedom is good for business. Research shows that religious freedom not only benefits the bottom line, but also improves the lives of women, consolidates democracy, and increases peace and stability.

According to a study by researchers at Georgetown University and Brigham Young University, Religious freedom is one of only three factors significantly associated with global economic growth. The study looked at GDP growth for 173 countries in 2011 and controlled for two-dozen different financial, social, and regulatory influences.

• The full report, “Is Religious Freedom Good for Business?: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis,” is available on the website of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion (IJRR). The authors of the study are Brian J. Grim, Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, and Greg Clark and Robert Edward Snyder, Brigham Young University’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies.

As the world navigates away from years of poor economic performance, religious freedom may be an unrecognized asset to economic recovery and growth, according to this new study. The study examines and finds a positive relationship between religious freedom and ten of the twelve pillars of global competitiveness, as measured by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (see example in chart).

The study, however, goes beyond simple correlations by empirically testing and finding the tandem effects of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion (as measured by the Pew Research Center) to be detrimental to economic growth while controlling for 23 other theoretical, economic, political, social, and demographic factors.

The new study also furthers previous work in the field, including The Price of Freedom Denied (by Brian Grim & Roger Finke, Cambridge, 2011). Grim & Finke’s research showed that religious freedom is a key ingredient to peace and stability, as measured by the absence of violent religious persecution and conflict. This is particularly important for business because where stability exists, there is more opportunity to invest and conduct normal and predictable business operations, especially in emerging and new markets.

The new study observes that religious hostilities and restrictions create climates that can drive away local and foreign investment, undermine sustainable development, and disrupt huge sectors of economies. Such has occurred in the ongoing cycle of religious regulation and hostilities in Egypt, which has adversely affected the tourism industry, among other sectors. Perhaps most significant for future economic growth, the study notes that young entrepreneurs are pushed to take their talents elsewhere due to the instability associated with high and rising religious restrictions and hostilities.

Religious freedom when respected within a company can also directly benefit the bottom line. This includes both improved morale and lower costs. For instance, the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch fought and lost a religious discrimination case in 2013 related to firing a Muslim stock girl for wearing a scarf in violation of the company’s dress code. The case resulted not only in substantial legal costs but also in negative national publicity.

Moreover, freedom of religion or belief is a human right protected in numerous treaties and agreements, including the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The study suggests that businesses may gain a competitive advantage by meeting the expectations of stakeholders who are increasingly demanding that companies play a positive role in addressing issues of social concern and fairness.

The study’s findings are timely given the rising tide of restrictions on religious freedom documented by Pew Research, showing that 76% of the world’s people currently live with high religious restrictions or hostilities. And the findings are especially relevant because the research shows that the largest markets for potential growth are in countries where religious freedom is highly restricted – casting a question mark over the long-term sustainability of growth in countries such as China.

Religious Diversity, Freedom & Economic Growth

One indicator of a degree of religious freedom is when a population is religiously diverse. While the two are not always related, religious diversity is a clear sign that people in society are themselves open to freedom of religion and belief. There is also an interesting connection between religious diversity and economic success.

An analysis of a recent Pew Research Center Religious Diversity report – a study based on methodology developed by Brian Grim – finds that the 12 countries identified in the study as having very high religious diversity each outpaced the world’s economic growth between 2008 and 2012.

Among the 12 countries (5%) with very high religiously diversity, all are located outside of Europe and North America. Six are in Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, China and Hong Kong); five are in sub-Saharan Africa (Togo, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Benin and Mozambique); and one is in Latin America and the Caribbean (Suriname).

Between 2008 and 2012, the world’s average growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was 1.7%. By contrast, each of the 12 countries with very high religious diversity had higher average growth, and most by substantial margins.

Average GDP growth between 2008-2012 in China, the world’s 9th most religiously diverse country, averaged 9.3%. In seven of the twelve very diverse countries, average GDP growth was double or more that of the world average of 1.7%: Mozambique (7.0%), Vietnam (5.8%), Singapore (4.4%), Surinam (4.1%), Togo (4.0%), Benin (3,8%) and Taiwan (3.4%). In the remaining four very diverse countries, average GDP growth was also measurably higher than the world average: South Korea (2.9%), Ivory Coast (2.6%), Hong Kong (2.6%) and Guinea-Bissau (2.3%).

The underlying data for the religious diversity report are based on a December 2012 Pew Research Center study of the size and distribution of eight major world religions: Buddhists, Christians, folk religions, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, other religions considered as a group and the religiously unaffiliated. Taken together, these eight major groups comprise the world’s total population.

CHINA

During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, religion was completely outlawed and people were routinely beaten and killed for having superstitious or religious beliefs. While it is true that today China has very high government restrictions on religion relative to other countries in the world, current conditions are far less restrictive than they were in the 1960s and 1970s.

Today, China has the world’s largest Buddhist population, largest folk religionist population, largest Taoist population, 9th largest Christian population and 17th largest Muslim population – ranking between Yemen and Saudi Arabia (Pew Research Center 2012).

It is undeniable that had the Cultural Revolution’s draconian restrictions on religion and all segments of society continued, China’s economic progress would not have been possible.

But how does business promote religious freedom, interfaith understanding and peace?

Using Marketing Expertise to Bridge Borders: Companies can make positive contributions to peace in society by mobilizing advertising campaigns that bring people of various faiths and backgrounds together, as seen in a variety of Coca-Cola advertisements, including one bringing Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan together through live video feeds in their vending machines.

Incentivizing Innovation: Because cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation is an essential part of daily work for multinational companies, one company, the BMW Group, incentivizes other organizations to create innovative approaches to interfaith understanding through an award organized in collaboration with the UN Alliance of Civilizations. Organizations that have won this award include a tour company in the Middle East, which offers new paths to build bridges and bring cultures together through profitable interfaith tourism. Another recognized intercultural innovator uses job placements agencies to help contribute to the religious diversity of workforces, including helping Muslim youth from poorer areas of the Philippines get jobs in the Catholic-majority parts of the country.

Incubating and Catalyzing Social Entrepreneurship: Business can also provide common ground where religious differences give way to shared concern and enterprise. In Nigeria, for instance, the Yola Innovation Machine, a peace-building organization, works to support companies and new entrepreneurs in conflict-affected areas as a way to reduce extremism.

Supporting Workforce Diversity: In Indonesia, businesses are at the forefront of efforts to promote interfaith understanding. For instance, EXPRESS Taxi, with a fleet of more than 7,000 taxis in Jakarta, promotes a faith-friendly workplace by setting up prayer rooms and facilitating Muslim and Christian observances as well as celebrations of Chinese New Year. In addition, businesses in Indonesia have worked to fix large, seemingly intractable social problems such as helping 4,541 poor couples receive the proper marriage licenses in large-scale interfaith weddings.

For more case studies, click here.

Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum (APRFF)*

The Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum is an invitation only gathering of religious freedom advocates committed to promoting religious freedom in their respective countries and abroad, from Feb. 18-21 in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

The Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum will bring together leaders of non-governmental organizations, religious leaders, and parliamentarians and other government representatives to address the deteriorating state of religious freedom and related human rights in the Asia Pacific region and the needed collaborative response from the international community.

Discussions will focus on specific themes related to advancing religious freedom in the Asia Pacific region, including coordinating advocacy efforts and diplomatic engagement, addressing related immigration and refugee issues and evaluating the socio-economic impact of religious freedom.

The Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum will feature speakers such as Matteo Mecacci, the President of International Campaign for Tibet; Brian Grim, President of Religious Freedom and Business Foundation; Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia; Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Chair of House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights; Ken Starr, President of Baylor University; Bastiaan Belder, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Bishop Efraim Tendero, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance; among others.

The Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum aims to provide opportunities for collaboration on advancing religious freedom and related human rights between regional leaders from the Asia Pacific, United States, Europe, and throughout the world.

Speakers

* China Aid and the Democratic Pacific Union DPU will co-host the Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum (APRFF). Sponsors and partners include Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, Taiwan Interfaith Foundation, Stefanus Alliance International, International Campaign for Tibet, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, and Tzu Chi Foundation, Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference, and the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, among others.

APRFF Hosts

IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Davos, 2016, World Economic Forum — Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and Chair of the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith, briefed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Religious Freedom at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Building on the work the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith did in Abu Dhabi in 2015, Grim discussed with Prime Minister Trudeau the 2-page briefing document drafted by Archbishop Antje on the “Role of Faith in Addressing Key Global Challenges” (available here). This work directly connects with agenda items he has, including education on pluralism/diversity and promoting gender equality. 

Grim also discussed the future of Canada’s international religious freedom office, currently headed by Ambassador Andrew Bennett. Prime Minister Trudeau expressed great respect for Ambassador Bennett, and said he’s looking forward to exploring how to move the work of the office forward. Grim also discussed how freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) is a mechanism by which pluralism and diversity are peaceful and productive.

The meeting with Trudeau was a small group setting with 16 participants. Also present in the briefing were leaders of major global NGOs. This also helped put faith on the radar screens of other key global leaders. Those present were: Secretary-General Amnesty International; Secretary-General International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); Executive Director Oxfam International; Chief Executive Officer United Way Worldwide; ChiefRabbi and President Conference of European Rabbis, Russian Federation; Chief Executive Officer Mercy Corps; President International Rescue Committee; Director, Secretariat Control Arms; Director Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law; Executive Director Human Rights Watch; Secretary-General Civicus: World Alliance for Citizen Participation; Managing Director Transparency International; and Chief Executive Officer International Bridges to Justice.

Other meetings Grim had at Davos included those with Al Gore, Cardinal Turkson (Pontifical Council on Justice & Peace), the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Francis Collins (Director National Institutes of Health). 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARRAKESH, 27 January 2016 — At the invitation of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, 250 of the world’s eminent Islamic leaders convened to discuss the rights of religious minorities and the obligation to protect them in Muslim majority states.

This position has historic roots dating to the time of Prophet Mohammed and the Medina Charter. Today’s Declaration was issued at a time of heightened social hostility fueled by violent extremism, widespread Islamophobia and the denial of rights, sometimes justified by misrepresentations of Islamic teachings.

The conference was organized by the Moroccan Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies based in Abu Dhabi. His Eminence Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, the President of the Forum for Promoting Peace and Co-Moderator of Religions for Peace (RfP), offered the keynote address that set the framework for deliberation among the Islamic leaders. Fifty senior leaders from the world’s diverse religious traditions other than Islam were invited as observers of the Islamic deliberations.

A summary of the Marrakesh Declaration includes:

— “The objectives of the Charter of Medina provide a suitable framework for national constitutions in countries with Muslim majorities, and are in harmony with the United Nations Charter and related documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

— “Affirm[s] that it is impermissible to employ religion for the purpose of detracting from the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries.”

— “Call[s] upon representatives of the various religions, sects and denominations to confront all forms of religious bigotry, vilification and denigration of what people hold sacred, as well as all words that promote hatred and racism.”

The fifty religious leaders other than Muslims:

— Expressed their gratitude to the Islamic leaders for their unflinching courage and devotion to their tradition and for welcoming non-Muslims among them as observers;

— Affirmed values shared with the Islamic leaders;

— Asked forgiveness for past and current injuries for which their communities are complicit;

— Shared particular concerns over violence in the name of religion, limitations of citizenship, restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, and xenophobia, especially Islamophobia;

— Committed to follow-up work in solidarity with Muslim brothers and sisters to build a culture of peace; and,

— Respectfully expressed the hope that this convening of Islamic leaders will be continued by future regional conferences.

Every attack, every hate crime, every insult, every humiliation is amplified in the media and sends out a polarizing wave, fueling the rise in hostility. Only religious communities cooperating —standing shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity — can transform this vicious cycle into a virtuous one, in which the good deeds of each community call out to and reinforce the good deeds of the others.RfP is committed to supporting all religious communities in collaborative efforts to build a virtuous cycle for Peace.

Brian Grim Meets Shaykh bin Bayyah

Brian Grim, president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, met last night after the adoption of the Declaration, with Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, together with other religious leaders. Grim briefed the Shaykh on the potential role of business in fostering interfaith understanding and peace.

Specifically, Grim told about the Foundation’s first global forum on business, interfaith understanding and peace on April 29, 2015, in São Paulo, Brazil’s financial capital. Among the sponsors was Latin America’s oldest mosque, Mesquita Brasil, where the Global Forum was held. The forum brought some 700 leaders together for a gala celebration where Muslims, Jews and Christians dined side-by-side to commemorate its status as a leader in religious freedoms. The theme was “Brazil a voice to the world.” The event is the first of a series to bolster the role of business in supporting religious freedom.

Sheikh Abdel Hammed Metwally, religious leader of Mesquita Brasil, highlighted the positive example of interfaith understanding and peace in Brazil. “This will be the first of many meetings”, he said, and “given the importance of the subject we want to share it with more people and show the world how Brazil stands out in leading position, by tolerating and peacefully accommodate the most diverse creeds. “

Nasser Fares, the lay president of Mesquita Brasil considered it an honor to welcome such an eclectic group in a celebration, highlighting Brazil as an example to other nations. Ricardo Cerqueira Leite, president of the Association for Religious Freedom and Business (ALRN) also noted that Brazil is ahead of many countries to express support and respect for peaceful religious diversity. “We are essentially a nation with natural vocation to deal with religious differences,” he said, “and to conduct ourselves in ways that highlight these values as an example to the world.”

During the meeting withShaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Grim also invited him to help seek out nominees for the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards which will recognize business leaders – current or past CEOs – who have demonstrated leadership in championing interfaith understanding and peace.

The Awards will be presented on September 6, 2016, at the start of the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where award recipients will have the opportunity to present their commitment to interfaith understanding and peace while contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16. The Awards are co-sponsored by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF), its Brazilian affiliate, the Associação pela Liberdade Religiosa e Negócios (ALRN), and the United Nations Global Compact Business for Peace (B4P) platform.

Shaykh bin Bayyah will receive the Newseum’s first religious freedom award this April.

Religious Freedom & Business Foundation President Brian Grim, at the invitation of The Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs of Morocco, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Washington, D.C., will participate in the conference “Religious Minorities in Muslim Lands: Legal Framework and Call for Action” in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 25th to 27th January, 2016.

The conference will be taking place under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in conjunction with the Forum for promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. The conference will be attended by delegates representing different religious confessions, government representatives and academia from all over the world. It aims to explore new venues for dealing with religious minorities living in Muslims majority countries that is ethically rooted in the sacred texts of Islam, yet reflects the reality of the modern world.

Marrakesh Conference Concept Paper 

At the meeting, Grim will bring insights from his research on the socio-economic benefits of religious freedom and interfaith understanding, the primary being peace and stability – key ingredients for sustainable development.

In order to examine more deeply what entails the rights of religious minorities in Muslim lands, both in theory and practice, His Highness, King Muhammad VI of Morocco, will host a conference in Marrakesh in the Kingdom of Morocco. The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, based in the U.A.E. will jointly organize the conference, scheduled to be held from 25th – 27th January, 2016 (15th – 17th Rabi al-Thani, 1437). A large number of ministers, muftis, religious scholars, and academics from various backgrounds and schools of thought will, God willing, participate in this conference. Representatives from various religions, including those pertinent to the discussion, from the Muslim world and beyond, as well as representatives from various international Islamic associations and organizations will be in attendance.

The conference’s discussions and research will focus on the following areas:

1. 1) Grounding the discussion surrounding religious minorities in Muslim lands in Sacred Law utilizing its general principles, objectives, and adjudicative methodology;
2. 2) exploring the historical dimensions and contexts related to the issue; and
3. 3) examining the impact of domestic and international rights.

This conference, with God’s help and providence, aims to begin the historic revival of the objectives and aims of the Charter of Medina, taking into account global and international treaties and utilizing enlightening, innovative case studies that are good examples of working towards pluralism. The conference also aims to contribute to the broader legal discourse surrounding contractual citizenship and the protection of minorities, to awaken the dynamism of Muslim societies and encourage the creation a broad-based movement of protecting religious minorities in Muslim lands.

CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, Senator Gordon H. Smith, gave the keynote at the Washington DC Jan. 12th launch of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s Corporate Pledge (photos by Maria Byrk/Newseum Institute).

• — For a news summary of the event, see article by Nate Madden.
• — See the global history of the corporate pledge.

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation co-hosted this event with the Newseum Institute’s Religious Freedom Center and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in anticipation of the President’s annual declaration of January 16th as Religious Freedom Day, calling upon Americans to observe this day through appropriate events and activities.

High level panelists* discussed how businesses can successfully negotiate religious freedom and workplace issues. In an era when millennials are especially concerned for fairness and equality for all, respecting the religion and beliefs of employees is not only fair and good policy, but is also good for business.

At the event, CEOs, representatives of major companies, heads of trade and commerce organizations, and the media were introduced to a nonpartisan corporate pledge on religious nondiscrimination and inclusion in the workplace. This new resource and its associated resource documents will align with core American values of religious freedom while creating a more inclusive work environment that leverages religious diversity.

*Other speakers included Joyce S. Dubensky, Esq., CEO, Tanenbaum; Richard T. Foltin, Director, National and Legislative Affairs in American Jewish Committee’s Office of Government and International Affairs; Charles C. Haynes, Vice President Newseum Institute / Religious Freedom Center and a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center; Dwayne Leslie, Associate Director in the Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty and Director of Legislative Affairs for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; Daniel Mach, Director, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; and Zainab Al-Suwaij,Executive Director and a co-founder of the American Islamic Congress (AIC).

Corporate Pledge: Four Guiding Principles

For rationale and more corporate documents, see https://religiousfreedomandbusiness.org/corporate-documents

Email complete corporate pledge to RFBF president: brian@religiousfreedomandbusiness.org

(1) Promoting Sustainable and Innovative Business Through Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief

[COMPANY] affirms that freedom of religion or belief (“FoRB”) is a fundamental right.* [COMPANY] also recognizes that religious freedom promotes sustainable and innovative businesses, contributes to human flourishing, and results in peaceful and stable societies. For these reasons, and with a vision of a future of innovative and sustainable economies where FoRB and diversity are respected, [COMPANY] strives to be a leader in promoting and protecting FoRB in its workplace and communities. [COMPANY] will not tolerate abuses of religious freedom within its sphere of influence. 

(2) Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment on the Basis of Religion or Belief

[COMPANY] respects each individual’s rights to freedom of religion or belief, provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion or belief. This prohibition on religious discrimination applies to all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruitment, interviewing, hiring, training, job assignments, promotions, demotions, compensation, benefits, transfers, terminations. [COMPANY] will take appropriate action upon receiving a report consistent with its general non-harassment and non-discrimination policy.

 (3) Religious Accommodation and Inclusion

[COMPANY] promotes a religiously inclusive environment where each employee’s beliefs are recognized and respected, but where religion or belief is not a matter of force or coercion. Consistent with this policy, an employee may seek, and [COMPANY] will provide, a reasonable religious accommodation that does not create an undue hardship on [COMPANY]’s business if his or her religious beliefs, observances, practices, or requirements conflict with his or her job, work schedule, [COMPANY]’s policy or practice on dress and appearance, or with other aspects of employment.

(4) Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Our Communities

[COMPANY] strives to be a leader in promoting and protecting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) among its stakeholders and in the broader community. [COMPANY] gives priority to business partners, suppliers, and contractors who share [COMPANY]’s values, including FoRB. [COMPANY] supports their efforts to promote these values through their business activities. Among other practices that are consistent with this policy, [COMPANY] will strive to support local, national and global initiatives that promote FoRB, and may refrain from doing business with or investing in companies and governments that restrict FoRB.

[SIGNATURE & COMPANY DETAILS]

Version 1.5, December 18, 2015

* Freedom of Religion or Belief – FoRB – is an internationally recognized human right protecting people’s right to practice, change or have no religion (see Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

January 12, 2016: Washington, DC

Brian Grim’s comments at the public launch of the Corporate Pledge on Religious Freedom (event photos by Maria Byrk/Newseum Institute).*

I’d like to give you the history of the corporate pledge that you have in front of you in support of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), the international formulation of what we here in the U.S. that we generally just refer to as religious freedom, based on Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 18, in short, guarantees everyone’s right to have and practice a religion, change their religion, or have no religion at all.**

The history of the corporate pledge – like the history of a company or business – is really the history of the people who made it and continue to make it day after day.

The idea for the corporate pledge began in the Middle East in the 1990s, when the vice president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, Greg Clark, then Managing Legal Counsel for Occidental Petroleum in the region, saw how local governments responded when they met with State Department officials on human rights and religious freedom issues – polite but not a high priority. By contrast, when Occidental representatives raised a concern that affected its employees or interests, it was treated as a priority.

At the same time, and quite independently, I was heading up the first faith-based development organization in what was then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. As the Soviet Union was dissolved, the new (and current) president of Kazakhstan immediately announced support for religious freedom, and one his first actions was to turn over the Communist Party Training School to be turned into the country’s first business school. At that point Pres. Nazarbaev perceived a direct connection between religious and economic freedom. As a result, and certainly not perfectly, Nazarbaev envisioned a future where Muslims, Christians and people of various faiths could work together to build a new country.

That’s a bit of ancient history.

Since then, and after many years in corporate law, my colleague Greg Clark left the Middle East volunteered for his church as its legal and religious freedom representative for Brazil. From there, he got me interested in looking at the global research on I’d been coordinating for the better part of a decade at the Pew Research Center from a different perspective – from the self interests of businesses and governments. Indeed, research I’ve published with Greg as well as a string of articles at the World Economic Forum, where I serve as chair of the global agenda council on the role of faith, show just that. Where religious freedom and the diversity that arises with it are protected and respected, sustainable, long term economic development is more likely. One of the main causal links is that where religious freedom is present, peace and the stability it provides for businesses to grow is much more likely. For more on that argument you can see my Cambridge University Press book with Roger Finke, The Price of Freedom Denied.

And, it was in Brazil, that the idea came about for this corporate pledge that is accompanied by a packet of supporting corporate documents you can find on our website. The first step was for me to leave Pew and set up the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation as a platform to study and make known the connections between religious freedom and better socio-economic outcomes. The launch of the foundation took place in 2014 in Brazil, that included not only the Brazilian vice president Michel Temer, but also leading business people, one of whom simply observed that if we could provide him some basic language in support of freedom of religion and belief and religious nondiscrimination – things that he already wholeheartedly supported – that he’d be glad to get it inserted into the corporate documents of the companies he controlled.

That’s when two corporate lawyers here with us today – Gavin Parker and Rob Ellis – volunteered to turn the idea into a series of corporate documents that you can find on the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation website under “initiatives”, including the corporate pledge you have today. Rob and Gavin transformed some rough concepts into drafts that were then circulated to a number of religious freedom experts, including the religious freedom round table that Charles Haynes helps coordinate; the folks at Tanenbaum, including Mark Fowler, Elizabeth Joslin and Eliza Blanchard; and several of the panel members who will speak later, including Dan Mach from ACLU, Richard Foltin from AJC.

This corporate pledge has also been developed in the context of a partnership that the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation has with the United Nations. Around the same time that I was setting up the Foundation, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon set up the Business for Peace Platform within the United Nations Global Compact. Together, we plan to hold an awards event during the upcoming Olympics in Brazil recognizing business leaders who are advancing interfaith understanding, religious freedom, and peace through their company’s work, their own advocacy, or through public-private partnerships.

We are honored today to have a board member of the UN Global Compact with us, Y.W. Junardy, Chief Corporate Officer of the Rajawali Corp., a business group involved in multiple industries across Indonesia. Junardy is a true global leader in putting to practice the potential of business as a force for good. Just two examples among many. First, Junardy enlisted Sec. Gen Ban Ki-Moon to help launch a new resource on how business is a powerful force to support interfaith understanding, practical religious freedom, and peace. The joint publication with my Foundation and the UN Global Compact Network in Indonesia gives case studies of four different ways businesses do this, including: 1) using marketing expertise to bridge borders; 2) incentivizing innovation; 3) incubating and catalyzing social entrepreneurship; and 4) supporting workplace diversity.  Since launching this in Indonesia in 2014, we’ve since translated it into Portuguese and featured the publication at a major religious freedom and business event in Brazil. The event was attended by some 700 business and community leaders and was hosted in Brazil’s first mosque. Second, Junardy has used his business to help alleviate poverty among multiple faith groups in Indonesia by overcoming a severe social problem, that is many people in Indonesia found themselves in the situation that they are living as families out of wedlock, preventing their children from being registered and essentially living as stateless persons. He’s helped thousands of couples marry by hosting mass interfaith wedding events, one of which he has just come back from Timor-Leste.

These connections through the UN Global Compact have allowed the role of religious freedom to be highlighted among top business leaders, including at a recent event with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and some 300 other corporate leaders at the UN. Just as an example of one result from that, Aviva, one of the UK’s largest and oldest insurance companies, has taken an interest in the corporate pledge that you have before you.

I’d like to recognize another special guest, Arnie Podgorsky, a corporate lawyer here in DC, working with Fouad Makhzoumi, a Lebanese billionaire working in the gas and pipe business. Unfortunately Fouad can’t be with us today, but his work is an example of how a businessman in a difficult part of the world sees religious freedom as critical for socio-economic success. In addition to being an outspoken advocate for religious freedom, The Makhzoumi Foundation has provided job training for over 400,000 people in Lebanon – that’s one in ten people in the country. But the unique nature of the program is that Makhzoumi, a Sunni Muslim, insists that the job training benefit all in Lebanese society, not just members of his faith. As he says, only when people of all faiths have the opportunity to rise together can the economy of a country be successful.

Finally, and now going back to really ancient history, I grew up in a house where business and faith interacted quite naturally. My parents are here today. And it was my father who while working as a chief engineer for a major international corporation also was head of our church’s building committee, led a boy scout troop, taught Sunday school, and participated in a stock club. All those activities fit naturally together, with his faith and work providing an example to me of how the freedom to be who you are wherever you are is one of the great sources of innovation and human development.

Panel Discussion

• – Senator Gordon H. Smith, President & CEO, National Assoc. of Broadcasters
• – Joyce S. Dubensky, Esq., CEO, Tanenbaum
• – Richard T. Foltin, Director, National and Legislative Affairs in American Jewish Committee’s Office of Government and International Affairs
• – Brian Grim, President, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
• – Charles C. Haynes, Vice President Newseum Institute / Religious Freedom Center and a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center
• – Dwayne Leslie, Associate Director in the Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty and Director of Legislative Affairs for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
• – Daniel Mach, Director, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief
• – Zainab Al-Suwaij,Executive Director and a co-founder of the American Islamic Congress (AIC)

Questions to the Panel:

(1) Let’s begin with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of last June 1st in favor of Samantha Elauf, an American Muslim woman who wears a hijab and was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch when she was 17. Elauf claimed the company did not offer her a job because her religious identity, and specifically because her hijab, violates Abercrombie’s “look policy.” The court ruled 8-to-1 in favor of Elauf. What are some of the various ways that U.S. law protects employees from religious discrimination in hiring, firing and advancement?

(2) Turning now to a more recent event hitting the news is a workplace prayer dispute with Somali workers at Cargill Meat Solutions Fort Morgan, Colorado, meatpacking plant that led to the firing of about 190 employees. The workers who lost their jobs were mostly immigrants from Somalia, and their termination came after they failed to report to work for three consecutive days in December to protest what they say were changes in times allowed for Muslim prayer. Cargill says, however, it makes every “reasonable attempt” to provide religious accommodation for all of its employees at the Fort Morgan plant without interrupting operations. This raises the question of how far employers should be expected to accommodate religious practices in the workplace. Are companies doing enough?

(3) Last week it was reported that more than 100 Georgia-based businesses have formed a partnership to oppose religious freedom legislation that has sparked convention and tourism boycotts in states where it has been passed into law, most notably in Indiana last fall, with Apple CEO Tim Cook as a leading critic. These businesses argue that religious freedom legislation will be used to discriminate against LGBT people in employment and public accommodations. Certainly, the question of “if and how to accommodate employees with a religious objection to same-sex marriage” is a live issue. How should companies balance ostensibly conflicting claims for rights from LGBT and religious employees? What role should companies play in publicly supporting or denouncing religious freedom legislation?

(4) And now to wrap up, I’d like to return to the corporate pledge. What possibilities do you see for advancing the four points*** of the pledge within the business community?

* The event was co-hosted by the Newseum Institute’s Religious Freedom Center, the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, and Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.

** Article 18: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” 

*** (a) Promoting Sustainable and Innovative Business Through Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief; (b) Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment on the Basis of Religion or Belief; (c) Religious Accommodation and Inclusion; and (d) Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Our Communities

WHEN: January 12, 2016 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

WHERE: Knight Conference Center, Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA

COST: Free and open to the public. Registration is required.

REGISTER: RSVP

On Tuesday, January 12, 2016, we will co-host an event in anticipation of the President’s annual declaration of January 16th as Religious Freedom Day, calling upon Americans to observe this day through appropriate events and activities.

Research and experience tell us that the success of the U.S. economy and society is due in no small part to the success we have had promoting a strong and religiously diverse workplace, one that includes and protects people of all faiths and none. Recent research, however, finds that more than one-in-three American workers report experiencing or witnessing workplace religious discrimination.

The event will discuss how businesses can successfully negotiate religious freedom and workplace issues. In an era when millennials are especially concerned for fairness and equality for all, respecting the religion and beliefs of employees is not only fair and good policy, but is also good for business.

At the event, CEOs, representatives of major companies, heads of trade and commerce organizations, and the media will be introduced to a nonpartisan corporate pledge on religious nondiscrimination and inclusion in the workplace. This new resource and its associated resource documents will align with core American values of religious freedom while creating a more inclusive work environment that leverages religious diversity.

Gordon H. Smith, President & CEO, National Assoc. of Broadcasters, will give the keynote* 

Other speakers include:

• – Joyce S. Dubensky, Esq., CEO, Tanenbaum
• – Richard T. Foltin, Director, National and Legislative Affairs in American Jewish Committee’s Office of Government and International Affairs
• – Brian Grim, President, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
• – Charles C. Haynes, Vice President Newseum Institute / Religious Freedom Center and a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center
• – Dwayne Leslie, Associate Director in the Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty and Director of Legislative Affairs for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
• – Daniel Mach, Director, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief
• – Zainab Al-Suwaij,Executive Director and a co-founder of the American Islamic Congress (AIC)

The event is co-hosted by the Newseum Institute’s Religious Freedom Center, the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, and Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.

Gordon H. Smith
NAB President and CEO

Gordon H. Smith joined the National Association of Broadcasters as president and CEO in November 2009. Prior to joining NAB, he served as a two-term U.S. senator from Oregon and later as senior advisor in the Washington offices of Covington & Burling, LLP.

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Gordon’s committee assignments included the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the panel that oversees all broadcast-related legislation. He also served on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Gordon’s role on the Commerce Committee and as chairman of a Senate High Tech Task Force helped foster his interest in new media and new technology issues.

Born in Pendleton, Ore., Gordon attended college at Brigham Young University, received his law degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, and practiced law in New Mexico and Arizona before returning to Oregon to direct the family-owned Smith Frozen Foods business in Weston, Ore. Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 1996, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate, rising to the position of president of that body after only three years.

Gordon and his wife Sharon live in Bethesda, Md., and are the parents of three children and two grandchildren.