SW News: The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit took place in Washington, D.C., on January 31 and February 1. Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and other religious leaders from throughout the world gathered at the summit to discuss the ongoing persecution of believers, which has claimed millions of lives and has become more ubiquitous.

Mike McCaul, a Republican representative from Texas and a devout Catholic who cited the teachings of Pope Francis and St. John Paul II in his declaration, called religious freedom a "cornerstone" of human rights.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum's Naomi Kikoler was among the speakers at the conference who issued a warning that, if quick action is not taken, the persecution of religious minorities may amount to genocide in other countries as well.

Researching the Holocaust, according to Kikoler, has taught us that persecution and genocide never occur on their own, so seeing and responding to early warning signs may prevent a deadly spread.

Despite their ideological differences, the event's honorary congressional co-chairs, Reps. Mike McCaul and Jim McGovern, expressed alarm about the rise in religious persecution throughout the world.

According to McGovern, authoritarian and unstable regimes often rule in societies where religious freedom is in danger, while McCaul believes that as religious freedom increases, conflict reduces.

Sam Brownback, a former US ambassador at large for international religious freedom, has said that this issue is crucial to the state of the world today. China, a close friend of Russia, poses the largest danger to religious freedom globally, according to Brownback. "It's an authoritarian dictatorship that wants to grow and wants to do so by exporting its technology," Brownback said in answer to a query about the country.

Dr. Yang Jianli of the Citizens Power Initiatives for China asserts that the Communist Party is to blame, claiming that "the CCP intends to replace the human need for worship with a substitute religion centered on the Party.

"On the other hand, Brownback has expressed confidence that the summit would assist in advancing religious freedom in policy discussions at all levels of government.

According to Open Doors International, a ministry that defends religious liberty, 5,014 Christians were murdered in Nigeria alone in 2022.