Exporting Freedom: Religious Liberty and American
Power
by Anna Su (Author)
Religious freedom is widely recognized today as a
basic human right, guaranteed by nearly all national constitutions. Exporting
Freedom charts the rise of religious freedom as an ideal firmly enshrined in
international law and shows how America’s promotion of the cause of individuals
worldwide to freely practice their faith advanced its ascent as a global power.
Anna Su traces America’s exportation of religious
freedom in various laws and policies enacted over the course of the twentieth
century, in diverse locations and under a variety of historical circumstances.
Influenced by growing religious tolerance at home and inspired by a belief in
the United States’ obligation to protect the persecuted beyond its borders,
American officials drafted constitutions as part of military occupations―in the
Philippines after the Spanish-American War, in Japan following World War II,
and in Iraq after 2003. They also spearheaded efforts to reform the
international legal order by pursuing Wilsonian principles in the League of
Nations, drafting the United Nations Charter, and signing the Helsinki Accords
during the Cold War. The fruits of these labors are evident in the religious
freedom provisions in international legal instruments, regional human rights
conventions, and national constitutions.
In examining the evolution of religious freedom from
an expression of the civilizing impulse to the democratization of states and,
finally, through the promotion of human rights, Su offers a new understanding
of the significance of religion in international relations.
