SANTA ANA, Calif. (WordNews.org) Feb. 12, 2012 — GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum is the only candidate so far to sign a pledge for religious freedom.
The pledge was drafted by Open Doors USA and Professor Tom Farr of Georgetown University, an international religious freedom expert.
The pledge states that the candidate will protect religious freedom in full for all Americans, and will advance international religious freedom as part of American foreign policy.
The issue has taken front and center this past week in light of President Barack Obama’s policies concerning contraception coverage.
“Open Doors USA is grateful for Sen. Santorum’s principled stance on religious freedom and hope that his support for this pledge will bring more attention to an issue that has been largely neglected in the GOP Presidential debates, as well as by most of the candidates in their campaigning,” said Lindsay Vessey- Advocacy Director for Open Doors USA. “We sincerely hope other presidential candidates will join Sen. Santorum in pledging their support for religious freedom in the Unites States and abroad.”
The Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom was sent to all primary presidential candidates of each party. A follow-up letter also was sent to each campaign headquarters.
Open Doors said nearly 70 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people live in countries with little or no freedom of religion. For the past 50-plus years, Open Doors has covertly come alongside Christians in 50 of these restrictive, dangerous countries, campaigning for the freedom to believe from the gulags in North Korea to the halls of Congress.
Open Doors has reached more than 100 million persecuted believers, including delivering Bibles and other materials.