Religious Persecution is real, violent, and increasing against people of all faiths globally.
How do we confront this intolerable crisis?
Fighting for religious freedom for all people is one of the main ways to combat this injustice.
The DBU Center for Global Religious Freedom exists to equip leaders to defend the persecuted and support religious freedom for all people, across all nations, for all time.
The purpose of the Center is to enhance DBU's commitment to religious freedom through classes, conferences, advocacy, and development of resources. Our goals also include strengthening partnerships with other schools, ministries, and networks committed to religious freedom for all.
The CGRF has identified three key areas of emphasis in the fight for global freedom.
Students
The Center seeks to inspire the next generation to lives of service and purpose, especially on issues of religious freedom and global persecution.
Classes: Exposing students to international challenges relating to freedom of religion or belief and practical approaches to advocacy is a vital step to deepen understanding. By taking classes offered by The Center, students can broaden their horizons and will be encouraged to pursue issues of justice. Students will also study the history of religious freedom and the significant role of Baptists in proclaiming freedom for people of all faiths.
Internships: Internship opportunities provide avenues for students to move from understanding to meaningful action. A purposefully designed internship program will help with new research and further student learning.
The Church
Through annual gatherings and intentional resources, the Center seeks to inspire Christians to advocate and pray for anyone facing religious persecution.
Believers should be the first to stand up for those suffering for their faith out of a belief in human dignity. However, too many churches are silent or disengaged. Because of DBU's Christ-centered ethos, can play a leading role in countering this trend.
Annual Gathering: This event features the voices of experts, survivors, and Christian leaders, with the purpose of inspiring the church to love for their neighbors, regardless of religious difference or geographic location.
Research
The Center offers a hub for Christian thinking on why we advocate for all. With plans for regular resources, a podcast, further research, and connections to partner organizations, the Center seeks to provide practical tools for congregations and individuals to stand with the persecuted and advocate for those who are suffering.
Additionally, our team works to highlight emerging problems, advocate for the release of prisoners, advise the changing of laws internationally, and encourage more robust U.S. policies.
A History of Freedom
Baptists have a history of leading this battle for religious freedom for over 400 years and Dallas Baptist University has consistently taught this as a core belief, from lectures in classrooms to details in architecture. The chapel, built on the model of the first Baptist Church in America, is located right in the center of the campus. The pastor of the church, Roger Williams, is one of the first public leaders who fought for religious freedom for all people. John Leland, a Baptist pastor in Culpepper, Virginia, was a primary influence on James Madison to spell out religious freedom in the US Constitution. Religious Freedom became our nation’s first freedom, preventing the government from making laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
A Word From Dr. Everett
Some have said that religious persecution is worse today than in any other time in history. While I cannot confirm that statement, I do know the severity of religious persecution from personal experience after having interviewed victims from dozens of countries around the world.
I heard a sobbing mother and father share their heartache after their daughter had been kidnapped by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria.
A young Uyghur Muslim told me about 24 of her family members who had been taken from their homes in China and placed in “re-education camps” where they were experiencing horrible physical and mental experiments.
Alongside individuals such as Congressman Frank Wolf, I have interviewed two 18-year-old Yazidi girls who had just escaped from cruel captivity by ISIS in Iraq. When we looked into their eyes, rather than seeing hope for a bright future as you might expect from girls that age, their eyes looked empty and stared straight ahead as they spoke of their tragic experience.
A young Rohingya Muslim woman from Burma told several of us about being sentenced to prison along with her mother and father for seven years.
It is because of these very real experiences that I am so eager to announce the launching of the Center for Global Religious Freedom on this beautiful campus. The Center will equip leaders to defend the persecuted and support religious freedom, making a global impact for generations to come.
Dr. Randel Everett Senior Fellow for Religious Freedom randele@dbu.edu
