Support for Persecuted Churches

ELCA Churchwide Assembly Action CA03.06.40

Resolved
To encourage members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to pray for people persecuted for their religious beliefs, and to encourage the promotion and protection of religious freedom and related human rights; and

To affirm the 1997 Churchwide Assembly resolution on religious persecution (CA97.06.48) as an appropriate response to the problem of religious intolerance, as addressed by the memorial of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod:

To [call] upon members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to pray for all victims of religious persecution, both Christians and non-Christians, and for their oppressors;

To direct the Division for Church in Society to continue its work with other appropriate churchwide units to study the matter of religious persecution and religious freedom and assist this church to respond effectively and sensitively to violations of the human right of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion;

To call on members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to continue to foster respect, tolerance, and understanding of other faiths, including an examination of the causes and manifestations of religious extremism in a variety of religious contexts; and

To call on members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to communicate to the President of the United States, the Department of State, and both Houses of Congress, their concern for all victims of religious persecution in other parts of the world, conveying their conviction that such human rights violations are contrary to the international community’s standards for freedom of conscience and religion.