Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Anna Hrypas, an Orthodox Christian from Ukraine, highlights religious freedom challenges in Russian-occupied areas.
- The Global Youth Summit, organized by the First Freedom Foundation, aims to promote solidarity and solutions.
- Fellows like Ashuriena Abraham and Benjamin Lutz emphasize the importance of religious freedom and interfaith dialogue.
SALT LAKE CITY — Anna Hrypas is an Orthodox Christian living in Ukraine. When she looks around her district, she sees an Orthodox church and a mosque. Not too far away, there's a synagogue.
All faith communities are equal there, she said. Small religions as well as big ones are able to have their voices heard. But in the areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied after its invasion, she said it's different.
Religions that aren't the Russian Orthodox Church face threats to their freedom of worship, conscience and belief. This is documented in a 2023 U.S. State Department report as well as by the news outlet PBS. It's something that Hrypas expressed concern over.
She's one of the fellows at the First Freedom Foundation — the first freedom being the right to religious freedom, conscience and belief. The fellows are all under 40 years old and live all across the globe. Some of them know religious persecution firsthand and were or are religious minorities in their country.
The kind of conversations the fellows have put contentious family chats at the Thanksgiving dinner table into a whole new kind of perspective, said Patrice Pederson, president of the First Freedom Foundation. The fellows have organized a Global Youth Summit that will take place on Saturday.
The summit and the fellows
Pederson said the summit is about "solidarity and solutions" and added that it's a time to appreciate the freedoms we have and stand with those who might not have them. It's worth noting that in the religious freedom world, terms like right to conscience and belief are used.
That's because there's a belief that the fundamental right extends not only to faith but to belief and conscience itself. It's this definition that the fellows used when talking about their work.
Four of these fellows spoke about their time in the fellowship so far and why they are engaging in work to protect religious freedom and freedom of belief now.
Ashuriena Abraham
Ashuriena Abraham is Assyrian. She was born in the U.S., but her parents come from Iraq and Syria. In fact, she said her father came to the U.S. seeking political asylum. When she returned to her parents' homelands, she grew connected to the area.
One of her family members was executed by ISIS, she said. And another family member survived. But his family was threatened, and he was beaten. These stories she shared with international religious freedom advocate Katrina Lantos Swett, and this opened up doors for her, including a journey that led her to the fellowship.
Those who threaten the right to freedom of belief and conscience are the minority, said Abraham. "The vast majority of us want to live in peace and want to have freedom of religion or belief." She wants the peaceful majority to have more impact than the minority threatening this right.
Younger generations are change-makers and the next leaders, she said. With social media and advanced technology, the world is smaller, and Abraham hopes bridges can be built faster than before, even though the world is so divided.
Arienne Calingo
"Religious freedom is so intricate," said Arienne Calingo, a Christian living in Indiana. She's Filipino and said going into the fellowship, she only really understood religious freedom issues in the U.S and Philippines. But now her world has been expanded through meeting fellows from different countries.
It's different to hear about religious persecution firsthand from real people than to just read about it, said Calingo. That was a common refrain among the fellows. Connecting with people whose lives were impacted was something that the fellows said changed them.
Benjamin Lutz
Benjamin Lutz is Jewish, and he studies interfaith dialogue and is involved in peacemaking. In other words, it's his job to build bridges.
The fellows talk about different ways to advocate for freedom of belief and conscience, said Lutz. He said it's interesting especially to hear from the two fellows who are Falun Gong. They live in the United States, and he said the work they do is powerful.
There's a diversity of both religions and geographies in the group, which Lutz said is something he enjoys. He said he likes learning about the different theological tenets of people's faiths.
For Lutz, he thinks the importance of religious freedom runs deep.
There are places where policies and laws restrict not only the ability for people to worship but also that prevent them from praying or celebrating their faith, he said. "For most people, religion is the underpinning of their identity, whether that's their core belief system, potentially their naming convention, or even their lineage."
In other words, not all countries have a First Amendment and enforce it.
Lutz said the purpose of freedom of religion and belief is for people to feel comfortable and supported in practicing their faith. Something as simple as dietary options at conferences is an example Lutz uses. Faiths sometimes have dietary restrictions, and if a conference cannot accommodate that, then a person is excluded from the table.
The way Hrypas sees it is freedom of conscience and belief is a fundamental human right. She said it is a way of expressing yourself.
What Hrypas is finding in the fellowship and said she wants to see more of is unity.
"We are fighting for this fundamental people's right which should be ensured in every corner of the world," she said, explaining that religion often makes people who they are. With more learning about people's experiences, she thinks there would be effective advocates for this right.
