Advancing International Religious Freedom

The order directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, to develop a plan within 180 days to prioritize international religious freedom across U.S. foreign policy and foreign assistance programs. It requires the State Department and USAID to budget at least $50 million per fiscal year for programs that advance religious freedom, including protecting religious communities from attack, promoting accountability for perpetrators, and safeguarding houses of worship. Chiefs of Mission in countries flagged for religious freedom violations must develop comprehensive action plans, and agency heads must raise religious freedom concerns in meetings with foreign government counterparts. The Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury are directed to develop recommendations for using economic tools — including sanctions under Executive Order 13818 and visa restrictions — against countries that violate religious freedom.

The order also mandates religious freedom training: all State Department Foreign Affairs Series civil service employees must complete it, and all agencies that assign personnel overseas must submit training plans within 90 days. Training must be repeated at least every three years. The order explicitly does not create any enforceable right or benefit for any party, and implementation is subject to the availability of appropriations.

Federal agencies and departments that fund foreign assistance or station personnel overseas, particularly the State Department and USAID; U.S. diplomats and overseas personnel required to undertake new training; faith-based and religious organizations competing for federal foreign-assistance funding; and religious communities in foreign countries targeted by U.S. programming.

Religious organizations abroad gain increased U.S. diplomatic attention and access to a dedicated funding floor. Federal employees stationed overseas face new mandatory training requirements. Faith-based groups competing for foreign-assistance contracts receive explicit protection against discrimination based on religious identity.

The State Department serves as the hub: it develops the 180-day prioritization plan, directs Chiefs of Mission to write country-specific action plans, coordinates economic-tool recommendations with Treasury, and mandates training. Agencies that deploy overseas personnel feed training plans upward through the National Security Advisor within 90 days. The $50 million annual funding floor is aspirational — tied to "extent feasible" and appropriations availability — so actual spending depends on congressional appropriations and agency budget decisions each fiscal year.