Religious Liberty Partnership Holds 2018 Consultation in Washington, DC

The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP) just concluded its annual consultation last month in Washington, D.C., with 110 key CEOs and senior leaders from 60 organisations and 20+ countries participating.

Among the speakers at the Consultation were: Sam Brownback, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Liberty; U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK); U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Congressional Caucus; Ms. Kristina Arriaga, Commissioner with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF); U.S. Congressman Randy Hultgren (R-IL); Dr. Kent Hill of the Religious Freedom Institute; and Former US Congressman, Frank Wolf.

“This year’s RLP Consultation was very special,” said Mervyn Thomas, RLP Chairman and CEO of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, UK, “in that it gave participants the rare opportunity to hear from and engage with senior legislators and members of the large and influential religious freedom community in Washington DC, including of course the new Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback.” Thomas went on to point out that, “this was the largest ever Consultation for us, and as always was a thrill to meet and connect with new and inspiring leaders who are doing similar work all around the world.”

The group also had significant sessions addressing Women and Persecution, Multi-Faith Coalition Building and Apostasy Laws, as well as leaders from Cuba and Kazakhstan talking about the difficulty of following Christ in those countries.

“Our unique design,” said Brian F. O’Connell, RLP Facilitator, “is to create space for our member CEOs and leaders to connect, build relationships with each other and explore ways we can work together to better serve those believers under pressure for their faith”.

The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP) is a collaboration of Christian organisations in over 20 countries focused on religious liberty for all. The RLP seeks to more intentionally work together in addressing advocacy, research, assistance, and in raising the awareness of religious restrictions worldwide. For more information, contact: [email protected].