The "largest event on religious freedom", put on by the US State Department, ends today.

This is the second-ever Ministerial To Advance Religious Freedom.

In an interview with Christianity Today, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says, "We want to work to make sure other countries understand how central it is to the individuals that are in their country to have the opportunity to worship as one chooses or chooses not to worship, and to know that their government is not going to restrict, impose, impede, or punish those activities is central to human dignity."

Pompeo believes religious freedom is "America's first freedom" and should be the leader in discussions about advancing religious freedoms to all countries and faiths.

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On June 16, U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo kicked off the Second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the State Department in Washington, DC. From June 16-18, the #IRFministerial will convene more than 1000 leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges facing #religiousfreedom, identify means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, and promote greater respect and preservation of religious liberty for all. In his remarks, Secretary Pompeo said, "All people from every place on the globe must be permitted to practice their faith openly – in their homes, in their places of worship, in the public square – and believe what they want to believe. This week, we need input from all of you on how we can best advance that religious freedom."

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Pompeo says, "We can encourage other countries to recognize this most fundamental human right. And when we do so, we will make life better for millions and millions of people around the world.

"You’ll see leaders from nearly every religious faith here at the ministerial. We are equal opportunity when it comes to ensuring that religious freedom is protected. ... There is enormous Christian persecution in many parts of the world. ... But you watch, too, this administration work on behalf of Muslims or the work we do on anti-Semitism. We want every person of every faith to have the capacity to practice their faith or choose not to."

Since the first event in 2018, Pompeo says discussions around religious freedom have risen around the world from Taiwan to the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

The Ministerial has also grown since its beginning. Pompeo says, "There are more countries that will attend this year and will do so at higher levels. We think, too, following this second ministerial, we’ll even see more activity take place in many of the countries that have travelled here to participate in this."

The international issues of religious freedom seem to have no borders or political lines, according to Pompeo: "Through my time in Congress, I saw that there was broad, broad bipartisan consensus for religious freedom, and I hope that we can continue to work in that vein."

While religious freedom is a personal interest, he says that his own faith is separate from his political career.

Pompeo says, "I’m a Christian evangelical believer. This is something that’s been important in my life and the life of my family, and I have had the enormous benefit of being a citizen of the United States of America where I’ve been able to practice my faith personally and freely.

"I separate that from my obligation as Secretary of State, to the Constitution and the support and protection of all Americans. And I think this notion that has been so important in my life personally means for me—when I travel around the world and I see people who are living in nations where they don’t have that same blessing, that same opportunity to practice their faith—I think is something that does resonate with me."