The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) advocates for religious freedom in the United States and abroad. RFI produces research, educational programs, and maintains five regional Action Teams that lobby governments and civil leaders to protect religious freedom globally. ¹

Activities

In an October 2021 report, the Religious Freedom Institute argues that religious institutions are not only necessary, but should be allowed freedom in their doctrines, internal organization, and societal presence. The report claims that human society was born from a desire for communal religious devotion rather than economic necessity or agricultural advancement, thereby making religious institutions essential to exercising religious freedom. RFI’s report further claims that securing and strengthening freedoms for religious institutions could lesson social divisions worldwide. ²

In a May 2021 report, RFI called for increased protections for religious institutions, especially those that are disfavored by secular-left-progressive influenced Western democracies and are vulnerable to state discrimination. The report encourages policymakers to preserve and expand religious freedom for the largest number of individuals, communities, and institutions, with the least regulations, in an effort to balance individual liberty and social harmony. ³

RFI’s American Charter initiative aims to increase understanding of the value and meaning of freedom of religion as described in the Bill of Rights. The initiative does not seek to advance any specific faith and claims that culture wars and political polarization threaten the right to religious freedom. In order to protect and support this right, the initiative intends to establish a common ground for religious and non-religious leaders through its American Charter, ⁴ which is a modern restatement of the founding principle of freedom of religion. ⁵

Funding

The Religious Freedom Institute is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While RFI does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the John Templeton Foundation ($1.7 million in 2019) ⁶ and Baylor University ($118,500 in 2018). ⁷ Additionally, RFI was awarded a $1.6 million grant in 2017 from the Templeton Religion Trust. ⁸

People

Thomas Farr is the president of the Religious Freedom Institute. Farr is the former director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom and the Witherspoon Institute‘s International Religious Freedom Task Force. Farr is a senior fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University and sits on the advisory councils of the Human Rights Program at Catholic University, the international division of Alliance Defending Freedom, and the Alexander Hamilton Society. ⁹

Eric Patterson is the executive vice president of RFI. Patterson is a scholar-at-large and former dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University and a research fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. ¹⁰

David Trimble is the vice president for public policy at RFI and director of RFI’s Center for Religious Freedom Education. ¹¹

Byron Johnson is a senior fellow at RFI, a distinguished professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, and the founding director of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion. Johnson is a faculty Scholar at the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health at Duke University, a senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute, and a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute. ¹²

Paul Marshall is the director of the South and Southeast Asia action team at RFI, a Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at Baylor University, and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. ¹³

Nathaniel Hurd is the director of the North America Action Team and senior fellow for public policy at RFI. Hurd formerly worked as a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation (the U.S. Helsinki Commission), as a senior policy advisor for conflicts and disasters at World Vision USA, and as a government relations and advocacy officer at the International Rescue Committee. ¹⁴

Notable Directors and Advisors

Michael Ortner is the chair of the board of RFI and sits on the boards of the Catholic University of America and Catholic Education Partners. ¹⁵

Frank Keating, a member of the board of RFI, is the former president and CEO of the American Bankers Association and former Republican governor of Oklahoma. ¹⁶

Jacqueline Rivers, a member of the advisory board of RFI, is the executive director of the Seymour Institute on Black Church and Policy Studies. Rivers is a Hutchins Fellow in the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute at Harvard University. ¹⁷

Brett Scharffs, a member of the advisory board of RFI, is the director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University. Scharffs serves on the steering committee of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies and formerly served as the chair of the Law and Religion Section of the Association of American Law Schools. ¹⁸

1. “Home.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/.
2. Marshall, Paul, and Timothy Shah. “Why People Need Religious Institutions and Why Religious Institutions Need Freedom.” Religious Freedom Institute. October 2021. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/publication/foris-working-group-report-why-people-need-religious-institutions-and-why-religious-institutions-need-freedom.
3. Bauman, Chad, Robert Hefner, Timur Kuran, and Thomas Berg. “America’s International Religious Freedom Policy Must Account for Competing Local Definitions of Religion and the Common Good.” Religious Freedom Institute. May 2021. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/publication/foris-policy-report-americas-international-religious-freedom-policy-must-account-for-competing-local-definitions-of-religion-and-the-common-good
4. “The Initiative.” American Charter. 2018. Accessed January 8, 2022. http://www.americancharter.org/the-initiative/.
5. “The Charter.” American Charter. 2018. Accessed January 8, 2022. http://www.americancharter.org/the-charter/.
6. John Templeton Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019, Part XV, Line 3a.
7. Baylor University, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Schedule I, Part II.
8. ““A Strengths-Based Approach to Religious Freedom.” Templeton Religion Trust. 2022. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://templetonreligiontrust.org/explore/strengths-based-approach-to-religious-freedom/
9. “Thomas F. Farr.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/thomas-farr.
10. “Eric Patterson.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/eric-patterson.
11. “David K. Trimble.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/david-trimble.
12. “Byron R. Johnson.” Baylor University. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.baylorisr.org/about-baylorisr/distinguished-professors/byron-r-johnson/.
13. Paul Marshall.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/paul-marshall.
14. “Nathaniel Hurd.” LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielhurd/.
15. “Michael Ortner.” The Catholic University of America, 2022. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://arts-sciences.catholic.edu/about-us/board-of-visitors/michael-ortner/index.html.
16. “Board of Directors.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/our-board-of-directors.
17. “Board of Advisors.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/our-board-of-advisors.
18. “Board of Advisors.” Religious Freedom Institute. Accessed January 8, 2022. https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/our-board-of-advisors.