“Religion pours $1.2 trillion into the US economy every year,” said social scientist and director of International Religious Resources at Pew Forum Brian J. Grim. “That is 50 per cent more than America’s six largest oil companies.” Grim’s startling fact-sharing was part of an introduction to an updated report on the state of religious freedom around the world, on the opening day of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA)’s 8th World Congress in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States, on August 22.
Grim’s presentation came on the heels of the official opening of the event, which has brought together around 600 religious freedom advocates, government officers, and church leaders from 65 countries. During the three-day event, they will listen to thought-provoking seminars, enjoy breakout sessions in four different languages, and network with like-minded supporters of religious freedom.
“Religious freedom [is] a principle of dignity for humanity,” explained Ganoune Diop, IRLA’s secretary-general and director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “IRLA is committed to the task…of making this world a better place for millions, [a place where] people can experience freedom of conscience, freedom of belief, and freedom of expression.”
As he briefly listed some of the organization’s accomplishments over the last five years, Diop reminded attendees that IRLA has been participating in public discourses and debate, engaging in international forums on religious freedom and peace, holding meetings of experts from top universities, and helping people to better understand what religious liberty means.