Richter Frank-Jurgen / Flickr (Left), U.S. Department of State / Wikimedia Commons (Right)
CV NEWS FEED // Brian J. Grim, founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, has called on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take bold action in response to what he describes as the worst global decline in religious freedom in 16 years.
In a Jan. 30 letter, Grim urged the State Department to utilize the power of the business sector to combat growing restrictions on religious expression worldwide.
“The state of religious freedom worldwide is at its lowest point in 16 years, and current strategies for combatting the deterioration of this universal human right are insufficient,” Grim wrote. “The solution is to adopt a new strategy that harnesses a powerful and untapped force with a vested interest in building religious freedom worldwide.”
Grim cited data showing religious harassment in 192 out of 198 countries and stressed that efforts must go beyond identifying violators.
“Given that violations of religious freedom occur in 97% of countries, a strategy that does more than just calling out the most egregious violators is needed,” he said.
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Grim outlined several recommendations for the State Department. He urged the department to encourage companies to adopt faith-friendly workplace policies, build a network of business leaders advocating for religious freedom, and fund international religious freedom initiatives that can be sustained through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
He also called for the development of a business toolkit that would provide companies with best practices for fostering religious freedom, modeled after a similar initiative in the United Kingdom.
“I now ask that you reinvigorate the State Department’s efforts to call businesses and business leaders at home and abroad to embrace faith-friendly workplace policies and programs that accommodate rather than discriminate,” Grim wrote to Rubio. “It’s not just a practical way to build religious freedom for everyone everywhere, it’s also very good for business.”
Grim also recommended that the administration appoint an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom with global business experience, arguing that such a leader could have a transformative impact by promoting the economic and social benefits of religious liberty.
“Since religious freedom is in the self-interest of business and business has tremendous culture-shaping power and resources, now is the time for a business leader with a passion for international religious freedom to take on this role,” Grim said.
Grim also invited Rubio to keynote the upcoming “Fortune 500 Faith@Work Global Summit,” scheduled for May 21, 2025, at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business. The event aims to showcase corporate efforts in advancing religious freedom.
