In a turn on a much-used phrase, former United States’ Ambassador, Robert Seiple on Feb. 28 urged participants at the International Religious Liberty Association’s (IRLA) World Congress to promote “the separation of church and hate.”

Seiple’s review of some of 2006’s most notorious instances of religiously-inspired intolerance and violence evoked nods of recognition among the crowd of 600 World Congress participants.

This year has taught the world, Seiple warned, that, “there are people who will die for their faith, but unfortunately there are just as many who will kill for their religion. We neglect this issue and the geo-political calculus at our considerable peril.”

Seiple, who now serves as president of the Council for America’s Freedom, highlighted the need to promote greater knowledge of each other as well.

The Premier of the Western Cape, Ibrahim Rasool, also addressed participants, speaking strongly about his religious freedom convictions.

In order to combat religious hatred, “the conversations we require are not simply between Muslims, Jews, Christians etc… the conversations we need are conversations of mindsets across all religions,” Rasool declared. Touching on religious-inspired violence and terrorism, he spoke of the “troubled nature of the world that justifies itself on the basis of religion.”

That uncertainty caused by the modern world brings about even greater dogmatism should be clearly understood, Rasool suggested. “This is the birthplace of extremism. It labels because it cannot debate and argue. It fights because it has forgotten how to love. It isolates and condemns because it doesn’t know how to unite and find common ground. And it has perfected the art of dying for a cause because it cannot live for it.”

The five-day Congress closed with a Statement of Resolution and a Statement of Concern.  The resolution affirmed that “religious hatred is to be combated by all faith communions” and called on “all faith communities and their leaders to both teach and practice religious freedom within their own communities and in their interactions with others and urged the formation of more IRLA country and regional affiliate organizations ... to protect, promote, and defend the principle and practice of religious freedom for all people everywhere.”

With a Statement of Concern, IRLA congress participants “expressed their sympathy, compassion, and solidarity with the victims of religious discrimination, intolerance and persecution.”

The statement also noted, “a profound concern that in spite of some progress being made around the world in implementing freedom of religion or belief, there continue to be flagrant violations of this fundamental right.  In the statement they pointed out countries with no religious freedom, such as Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Libya, and the Maldives.

The IRLA was founded in 1893 by Seventh-day Adventist church leaders and has developed into a non-sectarian organization dedicated to safeguarding religious civil rights around the world. For more information see www.irla.org.