Religious Persecution is real, violent, and increasing against Christians and people of all faiths globally.
How do we confront this intolerable crisis?
Fighting for religious freedom for everyone is the best way to combat this injustice.
The Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom at DBU exists to equip leaders to defend the persecuted and support religious freedom for all people, across all nations, for all time.
As part of DBU’s Baptist heritage proclaiming freedom for people of all faiths, the Center advances religious freedom through research, class room instruction, conferences, advocacy, and development of resources. We work to strengthen partnerships with other universities, ministries, and networks committed to religious freedom for all.
The Center has identified three key areas of emphasis in the fight for global religious freedom.
Students
The Center seeks to inspire the next generation to lives of service and purpose, especially on issues of religious freedom and global persecution.
Forums: Through roundtable discussions, classroom instruction, and research opportunities, the Center, helps students broaden their horizons and discover how they can pursue issues of justice.
Internships/Externships: Internship and externship opportunities provide avenues for students to move from understanding to meaningful action through practical research that enhances student learning.
Churches
Through annual gatherings and bible-based resources, the Center seeks to inspire Christians to advocate and pray for anyone facing religious persecution.
Believers should be the first to stand up for those suffering for their faith out of a belief in human dignity. Christians believe in the God-given right to freedom of conscience, which should spur believers to action to advocate for all.
Annual Gathering: To help churches understand the scope of the problem and how to respond, the annual Global Religious Freedom Gathering features the voices of experts, survivors, and Christian leaders. The purpose of is to inspire Christians to love their global neighbors, regardless of religious difference or geographic location.
Research
To meet the 21st century challenge of global religious persecution, research and new ideas are needed. The Center, through its own in-house expertise and partnerships with other organizations, works to develop practical solutions. By researching the drivers of persecution and identifying practical, solutions can be found.
Additionally, in this effort, the Center works to highlight emerging problems, advocate for the release of prisoners, advise the changing of laws internationally, and encourage more robust U.S. policies.
A Word From Our Founder Dr. Everett
Some have said that religious persecution is worse today than in any other time in history. While I cannot confirm that statement, I do know the severity of religious persecution from personal experience after having interviewed victims from dozens of countries around the world.
I heard a sobbing mother and father share their heartache after their daughter had been kidnapped by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria.
A young Uyghur Muslim told me about 24 of her family members who had been taken from their homes in China and placed in “re-education camps” where they were experiencing horrible physical and mental experiments.
Alongside individuals such as Congressman Frank Wolf, I have interviewed two 18-year-old Yazidi girls who had just escaped from cruel captivity by ISIS in Iraq. When we looked into their eyes, rather than seeing hope for a bright future as you might expect from girls that age, their eyes looked empty and stared straight ahead as they spoke of their tragic experience.
A young Rohingya Muslim woman from Burma told several of us about being sentenced to prison along with her mother and father for seven years.
It is because of these very real experiences that I so appreciate the leadership of Dallas Baptist University and the support of outside donors to establish the Center for Global Religious Freedom on this beautiful campus. The Center will equip leaders to defend the persecuted and support religious freedom, making a global impact for generations to come.
Dr. Randel Everett
Senior Fellow for Religious Freedom
randele@dbu.edu