In an article published in Religion & Politics September 5, Shaun Casey, former U.S. State Department Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs, wrote of his frustration with the State Department and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Tillerson’s decision to close the Office of Religion and Global Affairs, created in 2013 by Secretary of State John Kerry.
“The office served as the portal for anyone who wanted to connect with the department on issues related to religion. Secretary Kerry’s insight was that religion was widely recognized as a public, multivalent, global force, and U.S. diplomacy needed to develop a better capacity to interpret the implications of religion. As he put it—we ignore the global impact of religion at our peril. Figuring out how to do this better was the task he gave me. As Harvard Kennedy School’s Bryan Hehir once opined, this sort of work is like brain surgery—necessary, but fatal if not done well,” wrote Mr. Casey.
He describes Secretary Tillerson’s plan “to fold what is left of the Office of Religion and Global Affairs (RGA) into the Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF). The RGA office budget will be stripped away; the titles of special representative for religion and global affairs, the special representative to Muslim communities, and the special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will be eliminated, and the special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism will be moved to another bureau. The RGA staff slots will convey to the IRF office, which will almost double that office’s permanent staff but will hardly suffice to keep the work of the RGA going.” He adds that the IRF office “has a narrow mandate to compile and edit an annual report on the state of religious freedom worldwide. In its almost 20 years of existence, it has a spotty performance record and has suffered from chronic weak leadership. Despite the secretary’s intention to expand the religious freedom office, I have little confidence that the vital work of the RGA will continue under its auspices.”
To read the full article, visit politicsandreligion.org.
