JD Vance: US' diplomacy for religious liberty abroad has been 'distorted to the point of absurdity'

Vice President J.D. Vance warned that the United States' international engagement on religious liberty has been "corrupted," vowing that the current presidential administration will not use tax dollars to promote things like atheism abroad.

The vice president spoke at the International Religious Freedom 2025 Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, where he addressed thousands of attendees from over 40 different countries.

Vance promised the attendees that President Donald Trump's administration plans to protect religious liberty in the U.S. and globally.

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The issue of international religious freedom touches every culture, nation, religion, and political system. At present, almost 80 percent of the world’s inhabitants live in countries where there are high levels of governmental or societal restrictions on religion, and restrictions have been steadily increasing for several years. The implications of this reality touches every area of life.

The IRF Summit brings together a broad coalition of partners that passionately supports religious freedom around the globe for an annual two-day in-person event in Washington, D.C. These 90+ organizations represent over 30 distinct faith traditions and are the core of the civil society movement to advance international religious freedom around the globe.

Over the past three years, our Summit partners have built a diverse coalition that is working to advance freedom of religion, conscience, and belief around the world. But even as the movement for international religious freedom grows, we are witnessing increased levels of religious restriction and persecution around the world. Raising our voices in solidarity with those who suffer due to their beliefs is more important than ever.

Together we will gain political support for the global religious freedom movement and embolden civil society, people of faith, and governments to take a stand for religious freedom.

Vice President Vance said:

"Too often has our nation's international engagement on religious liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the point of absurdity," Vance said. "Think about this: How did America get to the point where we're sending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars abroad to NGOs that are dedicated to spreading atheism all over the globe?"

"That is not what leadership on protecting the rights of the faithful looks like," the vice president added.

Vance's remark appears to be a reference to the controversy surrounding the U.S. Agency for International Development and some of its programs, as the administration has closed the agency's office this week and placed "all USAID direct hire personnel" on administrative leave.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance cited both ancient Christian teachings and America’s Founding Fathers as he vowed that the Trump-Vance administration will deliver on its religious liberty commitments during a speech to the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit Wednesday morning.

“Religious freedom flows from concepts central to the Christian faith,” Vance said at the Feb. 5 speech to hundreds gathered at the annual summit in Washington, D.C.

Those Christian tenets, according to the American vice president, are “the free will of human beings and the essential dignity of all peoples.”

“We find its foundational tenets in the Gospels themselves with Christ’s famous instruction to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s,” Vance said. “Early Christians, of course, suffered greatly and unfortunately many Christians still suffer today at the hands of oppressive state power.”

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rebornfree said:

That does sound good.
I'm not American so I can't tell you how to spend your dollars but I hope any aid from our countries helps those who are being severely persecuted for their faith. Also I hope humanitarian aid is available for countries which need the basics, but it is used for things like food, housing, clothing etc and not for things which harm people.

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Or push ideologies. That’s basically what he is saying. USCIRF has been misused on several levels. That needs to stop.