[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10327-H10328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2015
           NO MORE COMPLACENCY: RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IS REAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Brady]. Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Moran] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, with Thanksgiving around the corner 
and this session hopefully coming soon to an end, it is probably useful 
to remind ourselves that unfortunately we often take the freedoms we 
have been granted and enjoy in this country for granted. In the United 
States we do not have to worry about being arrested just for going to 
church. No one tries to stop us from praying in our own homes. In this 
country you might get into an argument with your neighbor over the 
relationship between church and State, but he or she does not kidnap 
your children, brainwash them and sell them into slavery just to punish 
you for your faith.
  But that is a scenario that is not alien to Christians in the Sudan, 
where in the course of civil war and a campaign of terror millions of 
Sudanese Christians have been killed or displaced, and they are not 
alone. It has been estimated that more Christians have died for their 
faith in the 20th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined. 
The Roman emperors at their worst could not have imagined the magnitude 
of persecution that goes on today. That is not to say that Christians 
are the only victims of religious persecution in today's world. Far 
from it. But what I find disturbing is the complacent and even 
dismissive reaction that many Americans have to the plight of those 
persecuted because of their Christian faith. It is as if we believe 
Christianity enjoys a comfortable station over the world, that it is 
universally embraced by the establishment, but Christianity is a threat 
to the status quo.
  In the Sudan, China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and many other countries, 
the establishment knows that. In those countries, the establishment 
does not embrace Christianity, it intends to crush it. Whether 
targeting individual Christians or enforcing sweeping laws banning all 
forms of Christian expression, these regimes share a common goal and a 
common crime, the violation of a fundamental, God-given human right.
  In Saudi Arabia it is illegal to wear a cross or even to pray 
privately in homes. Preaching the gospel to Muslims in Iran is 
punishable by death, and so is the act of conversion. In China, where 
Protestants and Catholics have been named principal threats to 
stability, earlier this year 100 church leaders were arrested in just 3 
months.
  In Cuba, the arrest of a Pentecostal pastor last year led to Castro's 
government ordering the closing of all of the country's home churches, 
estimated at as many as 10,000. In Pakistan, Christians can be accused 
of blasphemy, a capital offense. In Uzbekistan, Christians have been 
warned that they will forfeit their registration if they evangelize.
  In Vietnam, where many restrictions on Christians were lifted earlier 
this decade, the Communist Party government has slid backward to 
repressive policies, including arrest, imprisonment and so-called 
reeducation.

[[Page H10328]]

  No matter how thankful we may be for our freedoms, we must not be 
lulled into complacency about the situation faced by so many Christians 
and others persecuted for their religious practices and convictions. As 
a nation that has become powerful in large part because we jealously 
guard our individual freedoms, we have a responsibility to project the 
ideals of freedom around the globe. The responsibility belongs to 
individuals and advocacy groups, to businesses and to churches, but it 
also belongs to this our Government.
  While we have taken steps to recognize all religious persecution as a 
serious problem and to monitor its prevalence, we need to take the next 
step and develop clear-cut, specific responses to persecution once it 
is identified. The solution may not be readily apparent but the crisis 
demands our full attention.

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