Framing Religious Freedom Globally
Jul 18, 2023, 2:00PM
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Tuesday July 18, 2023
Religious freedom is a fundamental human right guaranteed not only in the Constitution of the United States but in Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is an inherent natural right for all mankind. Today, discrimination and persecution faced by religious communities in countries around the world are common occurrences and becoming even more frequent in Western countries, including the United States. Public religious expression is actively challenged, and practitioners are even sued for following their sincerely held beliefs in the public square. These challenges to all people of faith are transcending what was once a divide between the situation on the international stage and the situation in the West. More than ever before, policymakers must recognize that religious expression should be even more safeguarded and celebrated around the world.
The Center for American Values of the America First Policy Institute hosts Ambassador Sam Brownback and Paivi Rasanen, a Member of the Finnish Parliament, for this timely discussion on religious freedom and how this core human right is under attack around the world and more so in the West.
ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Paula White-Cain was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and serves as the Chair of the Center for American Values at AFPI. Currently, White-Cain serves as Senior Pastor at City of Destiny. For the past 37 years, White-Cain has worked across the world in almost 200 countries, ministering, fighting for religious freedom and humanitarian rights, and advocating for the voiceless. White-Cain also served as an advisor to President Donald J. Trump in the Office of Public Liaison’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative. Prior to her work at the White House, she co-founded one of the fastest growing and largest churches in the nation, which currently has over 28,000 members. She served as pastor of this church for 22 years, and during that time, Paula White Ministries was launched and became a global media and outreach ministry. She is married to legendary singer/songwriter Jonathan Cain of the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Journey and recites his daily motto of Don’t Stop Believin’ while riding horses and having the time of her life with her family.
Päivi Räsänen is a medical doctor and has been a Member of the Finnish Parliament for 28 years. Finland had Parliamentary elections in April 2023, and Päivi was elected for her 8th term in the Parliament. From 2004 to 2015, she was the chairwoman of the Finnish Christian Democrats. From June 2011 to May 2015, she was the Minister of the Interior of Finland. She lives in Riihimäki with her husband. She is also a member of Riihimäki City Council and a member of Church council. She has written several books from a Christian perspective, for example on marriage, abortion and euthanasia.
Three criminal charges have been filed against her because of her Christian beliefs and she has been in court twice. The Helsinki District Court issued a unanimous, clear acquittal, but the prosecutors appealed that decision to the Appellate Court. The hearings concerning her statements will take place in August 2023 at the Helsinki Court of Appeal. Päivi is ready to defend freedom of speech and religion in the higher courts, including the European court of Human rights.
Sam Brownback served as Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom from February 2018 to January 2021. He served as Governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018.
Prior to that he represented his home state in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. While a member of the Senate, he worked actively on the issue of religious freedom in multiple countries and was a key sponsor of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
Prior to his public service, Ambassador Brownback practiced law and taught agricultural law at Kansas State University. He earned a B.S. from Kansas State University and a J.D. from the University of Kansas.
Ambassador Brownback currently serves as co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit and is a Senior Fellow at Global Christian Relief. He is also chairman of the National Committee for Religious Freedom.
He and his wife Mary have five children and nine grandchildren.
Matias Perttula serves as the Director of the Center for American Values at AFPI. Previously, Perttula served as the Director of Advocacy for International Christian Concern (ICC), where he led the government relations efforts to inform the key legislators on global religious freedom challenges facing Christians and other religious minorities. During his time at ICC, he traveled to Nigeria and Pakistan, where he worked with government and civil society leaders to promote religious freedom. He chaired the Program Committee for the International Religious Freedom Summit in 2021 and 2022. Before serving at ICC, Perttula was an assistant at the Brookings Institution for the Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy. Perttula also worked as the Executive Director for the Office of the President at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, where he oversaw the university’s government relations platform, administration for the president’s office, as well as communications and public relations.
He also served as an adjunct faculty member in the university’s College of Business. Perttula completed his master’s in business administration in 2013 at Southeastern University and was named the most outstanding graduate of his class. Perttula previously completed his bachelor’s degree in political science and history at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also studied at the Harvard Extension School in International Security Studies. Perttula was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1986 and spent his childhood in Finland. He moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1998. He is fluent in Finnish and English. Perttula is married to Barbarah Perttula, and they have one son, Lincoln, and another boy on the way. Perttula and Barbarah love being involved in the local church as well as cheering on their favorite NFL teams.