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November 6, 2012 

The following article written by Eric Schulzke appeared in Deseret News on November 6, 2012. 

When a punk rock group got sent to prison for a protest at a Moscow cathedral earlier this year, Katrina Lantos Swett was an ocean away— but not all that surprised. To her, the harsh reaction reflected a tight link between the Putin regime and the Russian Orthodox Church.

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October 29, 2012| By Katrina Lantos Swett

The following appeared in The Washington Post On Faith on October 27, 2012. 

Across the globe, religion and belief continue to matter deeply in the lives of people and their cultures. From worship to prayer, births to funerals, weddings to holy days, almsgiving to thanksgiving, religion is a central source of identity, meaning, and purpose for billions of human beings.

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10/25/2012| By Katrina Lantos Swett, Mary Ann Glendon and Robert P. George

The following op-ed appeared in Roll Call on October 25, 2012. 

In the aftermath of the recent controversy over the notorious anti-Muslim film and the reaction to it around the world, now may be the time to step back, view the big picture and consider how best to move forward. 

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October 19, 2012| By Katrina Lantos Swett

The following op-ed  appeared in Eurasia Review on October 18, 2012. 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which I chair, monitors violations of freedom of religion or belief around the world. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of giving the official U.S. statement on USCIRF’s behalf at the religious freedom session of the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw, Poland. Sharing that task with Suzan Johnson Cook, the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, I highlighted two issues of concern: obstacles faced by places of worship and continued restrictions on religious rites.

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October 15, 2012| by Katrina Lantos Swett and Robert P. George 

The following op-ed appeared in Foreign Policy on October 15, 2012.

A constitutional ban on blasphemy might sound like a good idea to some. But it can mean less freedom for everyone. 

Words matter -- and few matter more than those found in a country's constitution. They reflect its unique culture, heritage, and history. Since no two nations are alike, constitutions will differ. Yet because all people share a common humanity, constitutions also should exhibit certain bedrock similarities, including the protection of basic universal human rights. That there are such rights is affirmed in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which nearly every country has adopted.

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September 27, 2012| by Katrina Lantos Swett and M. Zuhdi Jasser 

The following appeared in The Washington Times on September 27, 2012.

Member states of the United Nations should ponder an alarming statistic: According to a just-released Pew Research Center study, 75 percent of people live in countries where a bedrock human right is endangered. Not all people enjoy the right to think as they please, believe or not believe as their conscience leads and live out their convictions openly and peacefully.

As members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, we can attest that a number of United Nations member countries often perpetrate or tolerate atrocious violations — including torture and murder — against the rights of their people to freedom of religion or belief.