The newly established Center on Religion and Government at Andrews University will build on the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s rich heritage of promoting religious freedom, says Dr. John Graz, public affairs and religious liberty director for the church worldwide. The center will sponsor academic study and symposiums on religious freedom issues and will provide practical training for religious liberty leaders.

“The ultimate purpose of this center is to create a pool of professional religious freedom advocates at every level of the Adventist Church,” says Graz. “With more than 11 million members in 205 countries, the Adventist Church has increasing interaction with governments around the world. We need to train church leaders and members to effectively engage with governments on matters that are important to us as a church; human rights, religious liberty, and public health issues, to name just a few.”

Initiated jointly by Andrews University and the Adventist Church’s public affairs and religious liberty department, the center will also work closely with the history department at Andrews University, which is currently designing both a new master’s program and a certificate program in the field of religion and government relations.

“Ultimately, the goal of the study center is to help foster and safeguard religious freedom for reasons that surpass denominational self-interest,” explains Dr. Gary Ross, assistant to the president at Andrews University and executive director of the new center. “We value religious freedom, not only because of a fear that one day we won’t have it, but because we believe religious freedom is inherently good as a basic human right.”

Graz says the center will increase awareness within the Adventist Church of international political and legislative processes. “It is far better to express concerns about a piece of proposed legislation than to try to change the law once it has passed,” he says. “By then, it is too late.” 

“The church should not adopt a ‘head-in-the-sand strategy of survival,’ refusing to be proactive in meeting potential difficulties,” he adds. “On the other hand, we must also avoid being too compliant, too ready to sacrifice the global vision and interests of the church to nationalistic demands or immediate benefits.”

Planning for the center has been spearheaded by Graz and Ross, along with Dr. Humberto Rasi, education director for the Adventist Church worldwide, and Dr. Niels-Erik Andreasen, president of Andrews University.  The project was approved at an October 21 meeting of the university’s board.  In what Ross calls a “modest start-up year,” the unit plans to sponsor two conferences—one focusing on proselytism, the other on religion in China—and to lay the groundwork for future development and expansion of the center.