Georgetown University

Thomas Farr is a visiting associate professor of religion and international affairs and senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. He was the first director of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom and the author of "World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty is Vital to American National Security" (Oxford, 2008).

Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun chair of Islamic studies at American University.

Allen Hertzke is the presidential professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma.

Andrew Natsios is the distinguished professor of diplomacy at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, and former administrator to the US Agency for International Development.

International Religious Freedom: How Important is it to America?

In a new book, Thomas Farr argues that the advancement of religious freedom is necessary to America’s quest for justice in the world and to its own national security. But in the decade since the adoption of the International Religious Freedom Act, Farr argues U.S. diplomacy has so deemphasized this issue that neither justice nor American interests have been well served.  A panel of scholars including Akbar Ahmed, Allen Hertzke, and Andrew Natsios will join Farr for a discussion on the topic.