Religious Freedom Institute

RFI’s Annual Dinner will be held Thursday, November 19 — join us! LEARN MORE & REGISTER: religiousfreedominstitute.org/2026-rfi-annua…

Last week, RFI held its Statesmanship & Religious Freedom Seminar UK. Jim Bennett, Director of RFI’s National Center for Religious Freedom Education, leads our premier student program. LEARN MORE: religiousfreedominstitute.org/rfi-educates-f… #RFI #SaRF #freedom #religion #college

In celebration of America's 250th anniversary, RFI President David Trimble reflects on what Thomas Jefferson and James Madison had to say about our inalienable right of religious freedom and our unparalleled duty to seek religious truth. Read the article: religiousfreedominstitute.org/the-dual-under…

Pastor Ezra Jin, leader of Zion Church in China, has been released from prison. RFI celebrates his release & reunion with his family. Read Pastor Jin’s account of his release & his call on China to “legalize house churches alongside state-run churches…” wsj.com/opinion/pastor…

Religious freedom includes protecting places where faith is practiced. Our friends at First Liberty have asked the Supreme Court to review whether government may destroy a centuries-old Native American sacred site when less harmful options exist. Read it: shorturl.at/my4oa

Grateful to @RFInstitute for inviting me for 3rd consecutive year to speak at Statesmanship & Religious Freedom Programme UK, at historic Cumberland Lodge in @WindsorGtPark. May these young leaders continue to choose a path guided by faith, love & a commitment to serving others.

RFI Board Member Andrea Picciotti-Bayer examines the Supreme Court's decision in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, arguing that Congress should ensure prison officials cannot violate rights without consequences. Read more about it here: religiousfreedominstitute.org/supreme-court-…

Powerful op-ed by Pastor Ezra Jin of Zion Church yesterday in @WSJopinion (gift link in comment below) "My earnest prayer is that my release can mark the beginning of a new chapter for people of faith in China. Freedom of religion is a universal right promised in the Chinese Constitution. I hope that all our church members are freed and that China becomes a place where all people can freely worship..." - Pastor Ezra Jin

Miles Windsor discusses church fathers’ views on religious freedom in his series on Tertullian. Read his sixth article here: religiousfreedominstitute.org/tertullians-ta… #theology #freedom #RFI #history #humanrights

NEW ARTICLE: "The Dual Underpinnings of Religious Freedom in America’s Founding: Our Inalienable Rights from God and Our Unparalleled Duty to God" by RFI President David Trimble religiousfreedominstitute.org/the-dual-under…

“…this term’s rulings affirm that parents hold primary responsibility for their children’s upbringing, that believers may live out their convictions in public without being forced into silence, and that the Constitution bends to neither fashion nor ideology.” - @BayerPicciotti

RFI’s Miles Windsor explores how Christians reflecting on persecution often find that many of the moral and theological tensions they wrestle with today were already present in the early Church. Read the fourth article in his series on Tertullian here: religiousfreedominstitute.org/familiar-theme…

#SCOTUS delivered a landmark victory today in West Virginia v. B.P.J., protecting faith-based organizations in education and healthcare from costly litigation for their views on the natural distinctions between girls and boys, women and men. @becketfund shorturl.at/MWYqI

Watch RFI’s Ismail Royer, as he discusses how the Constitution and Declaration of Independence can work together to protect against modern threats to religious freedom in a new documentary called, “By Dawn’s Early Light.” religiousfreedominstitute.org/rfis-ismail-ro…

NEW ARTICLE: "American Apostasy at 250" by RFI President Emeritus @ThomasFFarr for @PublicDiscourse on how our society has begun to replace its fidelity to inalienable rights and religious freedom with a state-enforced commitment to radical human autonomy. thepublicdiscourse.com/2026/06/101296/

Ambassador @SamuelBrownback discusses communist China’s brutal repression of religious minorities in a recent interview with The Catholic Association. Listen here: thecatholicassociation.org/radio/ep-370-s…

See this excellent piece by @BayerPicciotti on SCOTUS's decision in Landor v. Lousiana Dept. of Corrections. She concludes: "It's time for Congress to make clear that no prison official can ignore the religious rights of inmates under their charge...with no consequences."

As we celebrate #FidelityMonth, let us give thanks to God for the unalienable rights affirmed in the #Declaration of Independence, based on the equal, God-given dignity of every person, and for those who have worked to preserve those rights for future generations.

Miles Windsor, in article 3 of a 7-part series, examines how Tertullian defended persecuted Christians through appeals to justice, law, and religious freedom. Windsor reflects on why those arguments still matter today. Read it here: religiousfreedominstitute.org/tertullians-ar…