On September 25, from 4:30–6:30 p.m. at the Harvard Club in New York City, Ambassador Brownback will co-host a business roundtable with Dr. Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation and Mr. Bruce McEver, Founder and Chairman of Berkshire Global Advisors.  The event that will feature a discussion on the relationship between religious freedom and economic prosperity.

Brian Grim – slides AMB Brownback Business Roundtable Sept 25 2019

Ambassador Brownback and Chief Economist Sharon Brown-Hruska will sit down with business leaders, government officials and civil society representatives to discuss ways to incentivize countries to ease restrictions on religious freedom in hopes to realize their economic aspirations.

This event is open to the press.  Please contact IRFpress@state.gov for more information and follow along with Ambassador Brownback’s engagement at UNGA on Twitter @IRF_Ambassador.

Today, US President Donald Trump together with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, the US Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and members of persecuted Muslim, Jewish and Christian minorities, announced the formation of a business coalition to protect the religious freedom rights of all faiths in the workplace. The President’s remarks included:

“This initiative will encourage the private sector to protect people of all faiths in the workplace.

The private sector has brilliant leadership. That’s why some of the people in this room are among the most successful men and women on earth. They know how things get done. They know how to take care of things. And they’re with us now for the first time to this extent. The first time ever.

We’re really honored to have you in the room. Great business leaders. Great people of strength.

Too often people in positions of power preach diversity while silencing, shunning or censoring the faithful. True tolerance means respecting the right of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs.”

See full remarks.

Innovative strength is more than twice as high in countries where governments respect freedom of religion or belief, according to research. One indicator of that is whether some of a country’s top entrepreneurs and successful business people stay in a country or leave it.

Bloomberg just published research showing which countries are losing or gaining millionaire through migration, with Australia gaining the most and China losing the most.

How does this compare with the level of government restrictions on religion and belief in a country?

It’s not surprising that China, the country with the highest government restrictions on religion – as measured by the Pew Research Center – is also losing the highest number of millionaires seeking freer, more secure opportunities elsewhere, such as Australia where religious freedom is protected.

Religious freedom is not in conflict with other issues:

Women’s rights are more protected in countries with higher religious freedom (source)

Peace is more likely in countries protecting religious freedom. (source)

And, perhaps surprising to some, LGBT rights are more respected in countries with high religious freedom. (source)

As the world navigates away from years of poor economic performance, religious freedom may be an unrecognized asset to economic recovery and growth:

Religious freedom is one of only three factors significantly associated with global economic growth, according to a 2014 study. The study also showed 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. (source)

Since the 2008 financial crisis, GDP growth rates in populous countries where religious freedom increased grew at about double the rate as in countries where religious freedom decreased. (source)

Religious Freedom sets people of faith free to do good, and that’s worth a lot, as research on the US shows: 

Conservatively, religion annually contributes about $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy, which would make the U.S. religious economy the world’s 15th largest national economy, putting it ahead of about 180 other countries. It’s more than the annual revenues of the world’s top 10 tech companies, including Apple, Amazon and Google. And it’s also more than 50% larger than that of the annual global revenues of America’s 6 largest oil and gas companies. So, you might say, that represents a lot of spiritually inspired fuel being pumped into the U.S. economy. (source)

Volunteer addiction recovery support groups meeting in congregations around the USA contribute $316.6 billion in benefit to the US economy every year at no cost to tax payers. And this represents only a portion of the faith-based work addressing the addiction crisis. (source)

FAITH AND RECOVERY

Key Findings: Faith Reduces Risk, Helps Long-Term Recovery — Provides $316 billion annually in savings to U.S. economy — Saves Lives

Authors Warn that Declining Religiosity is National Health Concern 

Public Perceptions that Religion Cannot Answer Today’s Problems Do Not Match Reality

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 5, 2019 — A new study authored by father-daughter research duo, Brian & Melissa Grim, and published in the Journal of Religion and Health looks at the role of religious and spiritual faith in preventing and recovering from substance use disorder.

At any given time, there are 20 million Americans afflicted with a substance use disorder (SUD). And tragically, each year, about 158,000 die from alcohol or drug-related deaths.  However, as we head further into National Recovery Month, one of the most effective tools to prevent and/or recover from addiction is often overlooked— faith. And when it comes to long-term recovery, faith-based programs are a driving force.

To view the full report, click here or a two-page summary, click here.

The study found that 73% of substance abuse treatment programs incorporate spiritual components such as 12-step programs. And congregations, through their support of recovery programs, provide $316 billion in savings to U.S. economy every year, the study shows.

“Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse” is the second in a series of studies from Faith Counts, a nonprofit, multifaith organization aimed at promoting the value of faith.

“In our review of hundreds of studies and extensive data, we found that religious beliefs, behaviors and belongings significantly reduce risk of substance use and significantly help recovery,” states Dr. Grim.

Dr. Grim also emphasizes, “while in the latest Gallup survey only 46% of Americans think that religion can answer today’s problems, the reality is that religion provides answers for one of

today’s biggest problems – addiction.” Part of the misperception revealed by Gallup is that fewer people are affiliated with religion today, resulting in less experience with faith and its positive impacts. Indeed, the study concludes that the decline in religious affiliation presents a growing national health concern because the growth of disaffiliation is concentrated among Millennials and young adults, who are also the highest percentage of any age group to have a substance abuse disorder. “In a sense, the antidote is being rejected by the very people who need it most,” said Dr. Grim.

The study looked at various data to see if there is any connection between religiosity and recovery and what it found was remarkable: Those with strong religious beliefs are as much as eight times less likely to use illegal drugs, and as much as five times less likely to binge drink.

Nearly 90% of studies find that faith reduces alcohol abuse risk and 84% of studies show faith reduces drug abuse risk, according to Dr. Grim’s research, while less than 2% show religion contributes to substance use disorders. It is clear that religion and spirituality—which the study refers to collectively as faith—are exceptionally powerful, integral, and indispensable resources in substance abuse prevention and recovery. Religious beliefs, practices, and ministries not only provide succor and solace to those in need; they provide tangible, valuable resources that can help prevent and address substance abuse.

Regarding the current opioid crisis, Dr. Grim is careful to point out that the study is primarily about prevention and long-term recovery from alcohol and certain types of drug addiction. He states, “It is important to note that the opioid crisis presents a different and unprecedented set of challenges that require a unique approach to treatment for substance use disorder that may include medication assisted treatment.” Grim also adds, “Indeed, I want to be very clear that we are not conflating recovery from alcohol and other narcotics with addressing the opioid crisis.”

While overall medical intervention for SUDs is life-saving and critical, this study shows that faith organizations are uniquely capable of providing the “wrap-around” care and community necessary for long-term recovery. Kerry Troup, communications director for Faith Counts, states, “We at Faith Counts see this study as yet another positive proof point of the tremendous social good that individuals and organizations of faith provide for society.”

The research shows that the efficacy of faith includes not only the behaviors people engage in (or don’t engage in) because of their faith and the support people find in their belonging to faith communities but also people’s religious and spiritual beliefs.

What others are saying about the study

“This study presents a comprehensive review of the literature on faith and substance use, and most importantly, provides a recent analysis of the SAMHSA database to determine the prevalence of faith-based substance abuse recovery programs and the tremendous cost savings that such programs provide to our country and health system.”

-Dr. Harold Koenig, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Professor of Medicine, Director, Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center

“Faith-based organizations work tirelessly to address difficult social problems like homelessness, crime, and prisoner reentry.  In spite of this fact, faith-based groups rarely receive recognition for their positive and valuable contributions. Brian Grim has done us all a big favor by producing a study that documents the enormous and beneficial impact of faith-based substance abuse programs.”

-Dr. Byron R. Johnson, Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University

NATIONAL HEALTH HOTLINE:  1-800-622-4357

External: Learn more about substance abuse resources for veterans with this useful guide.

LINK TO STUDY IN JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH

ABOUT FAITH COUNTS

Faith Counts is a nonprofit, multifaith organization with the sole mission to promote the value of faith. The centerpiece of Faith Counts is a social media campaign that tells powerful stories about how faith counts—how it inspires, empowers, motivates and comforts — and how faith is invaluable in helping to solve many of society’s problems.

Facebook: Facebook.com/MyFaithCounts
Instagram: Instagram.com/MyFaithCounts

Website: FaithCounts.com

Twitter: @MyFaithCounts

Faith Counts partners include a diverse faith community, including: The Salvation Army, Episcopal Migration Ministries, the Hindu American Foundation, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for Religious Liberty, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Hillel International, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 1st Amendment Partnership, and the Franciscan University of Steubenville. All faith groups are welcome.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Brian Grim is a non-resident research scholar at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University and president at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and has a doctorate from Penn State University. He previously was director of cross-national data at the Pew Research Center and a program director at universities in China, the former USSR, and the Middle East.

Melissa Grim, Brian’s daughter, is a senior researcher at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and has a master’s in theological studies from Boston University and a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago. Melissa was born in China, raised in the former Soviet Union, and graduated from high school in the Middle East.

The father-daughter duo are also coauthors of the first Faith Counts study, “The Socio-economic Contributions of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 12, 3.  http://religjournal.com/pdf/ijrr12003.pdf.

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Y.W. Junardy is recipient of the 2016 Global Business & Interfaith Peace Award.

Yaya Winarno Junardy likes to tell the story about how he was just a boy from a small village in East Java, Indonesia, when he arrived in Jakarta in the 1960s. Pretty soon, he had four jobs — as a street cigarette seller, a high school biology teacher, a university student and a casino worker. He worked seven days a week.

The experience taught a lesson he still applies in his business and philanthropy today.

“I found myself in four different environments with four different kinds of customers in four different subjects,” he told a group of National University of Singapore students in 2012. “It taught me how, as an individual, to adapt to different situations. I learned that in my life and in my work I have to adapt.”

Adapt he did, taking on a fifth job — an operator for IBM — before he had the university degree the company required. He spent 25 years with IBM in a variety of executive positions in cities around the world. He has also held high posts with Bank Universal, ExcelCom and several other Asia-based telecommunications corporations. He is one of the most prominent businessmen in Jakarta.

Junardy learned how to adapt to people of different faiths and cultures from his grandfather, an ethnic Chinese who ran the family’s copra business among Muslim, Christian and Buddhist customers and contractors. He has said he believes this early exposure to people of different faiths and cultures taught him to relate to and respect others.

As president commissioner of Rajawali Corp., he has more time to pursue what he calls his “second chapter” — improving conditions for the working and lower-income classes of Indonesia. His purpose now is “to give back to society by teaching young people, working with the underprivileged, and giving joy to others,” he told the publication HQAsia in 2012.

That ability to adapt has served Junardy, who is 72, well in his philanthropic endeavors. He is president of the Indonesia Global Compact Network — part of the United Nations Global Compact that encourages businesses to commit to universally accepted principles in human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption values.

Since 2011, Junardy has led a consortium of Indonesian businesses in hosting mass weddings for low-income Indonesian couples of multiple faiths who cannot afford the fees — 60,000 Indonesian Rupiahs or about five U.S. dollars — required for a legal marriage.

Without an officially recognized marriage, Indonesian couples cannot obtain identity cards, access health care or obtain birth certificates for their children. Junardy estimates 36 percent of Indonesian households lack these documents, stigmatizing their children — and affecting their education, health and, ultimately, their jobs.

For Junardy, providing poor children with legal status is a fulfillment of their basic human rights. “They are like nobodies in their own country,” he said earlier this year in a speech at the Gobal Child Forum. “They are left behind.”

In 2012, as he was preparing to spend more time on philanthropy, Junardy offered advice for would-be Indonesian business leaders “Take advantage of opportunities and learn from experiences,” he told HQAsia. “You learn best in times of adversity. Get exposed to cross-cultural experiences early in life and learn to relate to others who are different from you. Most importantly, always try to understand the context of the problem before jumping to solutions.”

• Freedom of Religion and Belief-focused Workshop
• 2019 Civil Society Conference
• Wednesday, August 28, 2019; 10 – 11:15 a.m.
• Conference Room 155C; Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, UT

Description:  In any community, even in locations where there is an overwhelmingly dominant religious majority, there is a multiplicity of religious practices, thoughts and beliefs. As recent events have tragically attested, these differences often lead to strife, conflict and bloodshed.

Religious freedom lies at the core of the UDHR (Article 18) and even the U.S. Constitution.  Yet even in less severe cases, critics now openly ask whether religion belongs in public life at all. Some say that people of faith have no business speaking of their beliefs when addressing issues of public concern. Others condemn churches and religious organizations for expressing moral and religious perspectives on matters of public policy.

In other instances, however, those with different faiths look past their differences to their commonalities, seek to learn about and understand one another, and protect each other’s right of freedom of religion or belief (FORB). By comparing the two approaches, it is easy to see that respecting FORB builds an atmosphere of mutual respect, tolerance, and inclusivity, and strengthens the fabric of the community.

This workshop will demonstrate the myriad benefits that come to a society from protecting FORB rights. It will go beyond the traditional look at how dialogue between different faiths contributes to more peaceful communities and societies, and show how respecting FORB advances a globally minded population, and encourages tolerance and inclusivity.

Panel Participants

Tomicah Tillemann is a Director at New America, a non-partisan think tank and civic incubator in Washington, DC. He works with organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation, State Department, Coca-Cola, and Harvard to deploy solutions to social impact challenges worldwide. He also chairs a range of civil society efforts, including the Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative and the Global Blockchain Business Council. He previously served at the State Department as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies, leading a team that built out over 20 major initiatives in 55 countries. Tillemann chaired the State Department’s Global Philanthropy Working Group and Federal Advisory Committee on Civil Society. Tillemann joined the State Department in 2009 as Secretary Clinton’s speechwriter and collaborated with her on over 200 speeches. Tillemann’s other professional experience includes work with the White House, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Reuters, and the World Bank.  

Elizabeth A. Clark is Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University.  Professor Clark has written extensively and edited several books on comparative and U.S. law and religion issues and religion in post-Communist Europe. In her work with the Center, she has spoken at and organized over 100 academic conferences throughout the world. She has also testified before the U.S. Congress on religious freedom issues, taken part in drafting legal analyses of pending legislation affecting religious freedom in over a dozen countries, and has authored amicus briefs on religious freedom issues for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brian Grim, Ph. D., is president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, a corporate trainer, and a leading scholar on international religious demography and the socio-economic impact of religious freedom.  He has extensive international experience and is a TEDx speaker and a speaker at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. Brian’s recent research finds that religion contributes $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, more than the combined revenues of companies including Apple, Amazon and Google. He  is recent chair of the World Economic Forum’s faith council and he works closely with the United Nations Business for Peace platform. He is an affiliated scholar at Baylor University, Boston University, Georgetown University, and the Freedom Forum Institute. Brian is a Penn State alumnus and author of numerous works including The Price of Freedom Denied (Cambridge), World Religion Database (Brill), World’s Religions in Figures (Wiley) and Yearbook of International Religious Demography (Brill).

The Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen is the executive director of Parity, a NYC-based national nonprofit that works at the intersection of LGBTQ and faith. She speaks frequently about religious liberty for LGBTQ people, collaborative bridging across faith and LGBTQ issues, and is a contributor to the Sutherland Institute’s publication, Religious Liberty: Striving for Inclusion. In addition to 20 years of chaplaincy and ministry, she is the former executive director of OUTreach Resource Centers, the Utah Pride Center and the National Program Director for San Francisco State’s Family Acceptance Project.  Edmonds-Allen, who attended Western Theological Seminary and Eden Theological Seminary, is married and has four children.

David Litvack, Deputy Chief of Staff, Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office. David Litvack grew up in Minnesota, and moved to Utah when he was a sophomore in high school. He attended Westminster College, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and Psychology. He later attended the University of Chicago to attain his Masters in Social Sciences. Previously David was the Coordinator for the Salt Lake County Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC), as the Operations Director for Colors of Success, and the Assistant Director for the National Conference for Community and Justice. David also served as a state legislator and minority leader in the Utah State House of Representatives from 2001 to 2012. In his spare time, David enjoys time with his family, running, and learning new things.

Panel Discussion Questions

Questions for Elizabeth Clark

• — Traditionally, a single national religion in most parts of the world has been seen as an essential social glue. But it’s also clear that protecting Freedom of Religion and Belief benefits minority faiths.  To what extent does ensuring Freedom of Religion or Belief benefit the community at large?
• — One common concern that some express in protecting Freedom of Religion and Belief is that it might undermine efforts to protect national security. I religion something that inflames conflict?  To what extend can protecting freedom of religion and belief help build an atmosphere of mutual respect?
• — You’ve worked extensively on freedom of religion and belief issues throughout the world. How have you seen join work on freedom of religion and belief bring together communities and religious groups?

Questions for Tomicah Tillemann

• — In your past life when you served in the State Department, you did a lot of work focused on protecting civic space. How does freedom of religion and belief relate to that broader agenda and the work of civil society as a whole?
• — If governments want to engage diplomatically around freedom of religion and belief, what are some concrete steps they can take to advance this agenda? What are some of the best practices you’ve encountered in your work internationally?
• — What is your advice to the community that cares about freedom of religion and belief on how to build coalitions in support of these issues? Are there compelling opportunities that we’re not pursuing?

Questions for Brian Grim

• — Could you give us a broad overview of the economic impact of protecting freedom of religion as it relates to the US economy? (e.g., $1.2 trillion annually)
• — How does freedom of religion and belief within a company (i.e., being a faith-friendly workplace) benefit a company’s bottom line? (e.g., Salesforce)
• — How does this work overseas, especially in areas where freedom of religion or belief is more restricted? (e.g., ChinaLebanon)

Brian Grim also discussed the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation’s newest global study showing that countries with higher religious freedom also have more acceptance for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to live openly without discrimination and enjoy equal rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.

Questions for Rev. Marian Edmunds-Allen

• — How might it be possible for religious liberty have a role in preserving civil liberties and to achieve “win-win” outcomes?
• — How can we think about promoting religious liberty in ways that contribute to the common life of a divided society?
• — How can religious liberty protections be good news not only for particular religious groups, but for citizens everywhere, regardless of religious belief?

Questions for David Litvack

• — In your experience as a legislator who has worked on legislation focused on civil rights and equity in Utah, how has the work you’ve done been impacted by the conversation around religious freedom?
• — What advice or insight would you provide religious communities, especially here in the US, as we navigate the political conversation around religious liberty and civil rights?
• — What role do you think dialogue and shared experiences among different religious communities plays in protecting freedom of religion & beliefs while advancing civil rights and equity?