Washington, DC ... B>Joseph K. Grieboski, President of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, appeared on NPR"s The Diane Rehm Show on Monday to discuss the role of religion in politics, focusing on this year's presidential race.

There was a time when candidates for political offices didn't talk about their religious beliefs. But today it's become acceptable, even fashionable, to talk about one's spiritual beliefs. With the choice of Joseph Lieberman as Al Gore's running mate, the issue of religion in politics has been raised regularly. Religion and religious belief has always played a significant, if not overt, role in American political life.

Mr. Grieboski was joined on the show by Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans for the Separation of Church and State; Andrew Kohut, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press; and E.J. Dionne, co-editor of "What's God Got to Do with the American Experiment," and Washington Post columnist.

For a taped copy of the show, please contact the Institute at 202-835-8760, otherwise click here to hear a digital version in Real Audio format. To download a free copy of Real Player, required to hear this digital broadcast, please visit http://www.real.com.

Washington, DC ... The Institute on Religion and Public Policy condemns Ted Turner and the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders for ignorant and insensitive remarks made about Christianity. Concerned with the proper place of religion in public life, the Institute is deeply distressed by Turner's dangerous, derogatory, anti-religion sentiments, particularly in a setting supposedly dedicated to peace and inter-religious cooperation.

Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski remarked, "The Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders has already committed serious acts of religious intolerance by not including the Dalai Lama, the Southern Baptists, and Sri Chinmoy from its proceedings. By allowing Turner to make such ridiculous and ignorant remarks only further indicates the lack of understanding and sensitivity of Bawa Jain, Secretary General of the Summit, and the other Summit organizers to the realities of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation."

Ted Turner, the honorary chairman of this week's summit at the gathering of religious leaders from around the world, on Tuesday told the group that Christianity is "intolerant" and does not promote religious freedom.

Mr. Grieboski added, "Christian leaders participating in the Summit, along with Jewish, and Muslim leaders, as well as religious representatives from every other faith, must make an active stand against such intolerance, indiscretion, and bigotry. Turner himself is not promoting religious freedom by making such scandalous and slanted remarks against Christianity. Turner with his comments and Bawa Jain by allowing them to be made have completely violated the spirit of the Summit."

Washington, DC ... While Chinese religious leaders preparing to attend the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders were enjoying a festive reception at the Chinese Embassy in Washington on 24 August, 130 members of a Protestant house church movement were imprisoned by Chinese police.

In a, August 29 letter to Li Zhaoxing, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski remarked, "It is unconscionable that so-called religious leaders from China are being feted in Washington, preparing to discuss peace and justice at a summit of world religious leaders, when Chinese Christians are being imprisoned for their beliefs."

Further, on 19 August 2000, Father Gao Yi Hua, an underground Roman Catholic priest, was arrested by approximately five Chinese police officers in the home of his friend after he celebrated a private Mass.

The Fangcheng Church, of which the arrested Christians were members, is part of the underground Christian communities, which are not allowed to pray in public. The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches, following only bishops appointed by the Pope.

Mr. Grieboski added, "There is a clear plan in China to eliminate every kind of organization that is outside State control. The United States Government has tried to deal with religious freedom in China as a human rights issue; to the Chinese, it is not a human rights issue, it is a national security issue. The Chinese government is enforcing a dying philosophy of Communism and the State as the highest existential entity in the lives of the Chinese people. Religious believers do not accept this; Chinese of faith recognize that there is a Higher Power than the State, which makes them a risk, in the eyes of the Government, to Chinese national security. This is the case of these Evangelical groups, arrested over the past few days, as it is of the Falung Gong sect, and the underground groups of the Protestant Church and the Catholic Church."

Washington, DC ... Institute on Religion and Public Policy President Joseph K. Grieboski today released the following statement on the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders taking place in New York:

The Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders taking place in New York presents an opportunity for all leaders of faith to stand together and speak of peace and justice against the great injustices of war, famine, persecution and intolerance. Regrettably, these idyllic goals and plans of great measure cannot be achieved if there is no peace and justice within the Summit itself.

The religious leaders participating in the Summit must practice what they preach by calling for equality and full participation. The ban on the Dalai Lama, Nobel Laureate and man of great spiritual depth and wisdom, speaks to a greater concern at the heart of this Summit. The participating leaders forsook the Dalai Lama and other important leaders of faith when they actively chose, despite repeated pleas by the UN, to transfer the Summit to a location where the Dalai Lama could have participated, despite complaints by the Chinese government. Bawa Jain, Secretary General of the Summit, gave in to the same government-sponsored pressures that are so often the cause of religious discrimination and persecution that have increased exponentially all around the world.

Before the eminent religious leaders participating in the Summit can solve the crises of war, famine, and poverty increasing in regions around the globe, they should first look to the problems of inequality and intolerance they are now perpetuating in their own backyards. While Bawa Jain aspires to have a voice in global policy by addressing world leaders at the plenary meetings of the UN General Assembly at the Millennium Summit scheduled for 6-8 September, he should first guarantee that all religious leaders are given voice and free expression at his own Summit.

Joseph K. Grieboski
President
Institute on Religion and Public Policy
1101 15^th Street, NW
Suite 115
Washington, DC 20005

Dear Mr. Grieboski

          Thank you for contacting me regarding the "anti-cult bill" that recently passed through the French National Assembly. This is a serious issue and I have been watching it closely.

          Promoting religious freedom and expression is at the heard of western democracies and I am surprised that a country such as France would even consider this legislation. Due to the schedule of the Senate this fall, the Foreign Relations Committee does not have any hearings scheduled on this topic, but I can assure you, that in my role as a U.S. Senator and Committee Chairman, I will continue to monitor the status of this legislation and the effect it is having on French citizens.

          If I can be of further assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Thank you again for contacting me and I hope you will continue your efforts to promote religious liberty in France.

Washington, DC ... An expert in the role of religion in politics and American public life, Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski is available to speak with the media on this very important topic, particularly now in the midst of a presidential campaign.

With the choice of Joseph Lieberman as Al Gore's running mate, the issue of religion in politics has been mentioned quite often. Religion and religious belief has always played a significant, if not overt, role in American political life.

With extensive experience in American politics, international affairs, and inter-religious issues, Mr. Grieboski is able to provide a unique commentary on the role of religion in America's history, politics, and the lives of the American people. As a young American who surveyed the political landscape and recognized the need for a greater voice for religion in the policymaking process, Mr. Grieboski founded the Institute on Religion and Public Policy in 1999. In little over one year, the Institute has achieved great success in many domestic and international arenas in a very short time.

Mr. Grieboski has expressed his views and expertise on national and international radio, television, print, and internet media.

For more information on Mr. Grieboski and the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, or to schedule an interview, please view our website at www.religionandpolicy.org, or contact the Institute at 202-835-8760.

Washington, DC ... The Institute on Religion and Public Policy is concerned about the decision of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to omit India and Pakistan from the list of countries of particular concern. Institute President Joseph Grieboski remarked, "By omitting India and Pakistan from the designation of Countries of Particular Concern, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has ignored the egregious and appalling violence committed against innocent believers on the subcontinent."

In 1998 the United States Congress unanimously passed the International Religious Freedom Act. Under the guidelines of the Act, the Commission on International Religious Freedom was established and must submit to the President a list of countries which "have engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations of the right to religious freedom," known as "Countries of Particular Concern." After the release of the Commission's annual report, testimonies of victims, and other sources, the Commission determined that Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, Serbia, Sudan, and Afghanistan fit the criteria to be labeled Countries of Particular Concern.

After a vote last week by the Commission, Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan were added to the list. India and Pakistan, countries whose recent past is rife with religious intolerance and persecution, were noticeably not on the list. The two dissenting votes on the India and Pakistan addition came from Commissioners Michael Young and Nina Shea. In his dissenting argument Commissioner Young stated that, "Because I am convinced that the government of India tolerates particularly severe violations of religious freedom, I dissent from the Commission majority's decision not to recommend that the President designate India a 'country of particular concern' under section 402 of the International Religious Freedom Act(22 U.S.C. 6442(b))…Reliable reports…portray a marked and lethal increase in violence against religious minorities in the past year…over forty violent assaults…including murder, rape, and church bombings."

Mr. Grieboski asserted, "The growing religious intolerance and consequent violence against religious minorities in India and Pakistan is disturbing. We call on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, United States Department of State, and the White House to recognize these dangerous trends and take the appropriate action to protect those who are persecuted for their beliefs. These acts of violence cannot and must not continue."