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AT THE DAWN OF THE 21ST CENTURY, MANKIND IS WITNESSING A POST-COLD WAR ERA IN WHICH A GLOBAL RELIGIOUS RESURGENCE IS CHALLENGING THE EXPECTATIONS OF MODERNIZATION THEORY AS WELL AS THE PROGRESSIVE SECULARIZATION AND WESTERNIZATION OF DEVELOPING SOCIETIES. RELIGIOUS IS A MAJOR IDEOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL FORCE; IT IS EXPLOITED BY GOVERNMENTS, POLITICAL PARTIES, AND OPPOSITION MOVEMENTS; IT IS A SOURCE OF BOTH LIBERATION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM.

THE RECENT APPARENT GROWTH IN RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IS LIKELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT ANALYSTS ARE ONLY NOW NOTICING WHAT WAS ALWAYS PRESENT. HERETOFORE RELIGION HAS BEEN WIDELY IGNORED OR TREATED AS THE SUBLIMATION OF ETHNICITY, PSYCHOLOGY, CULTURE, OR ECONOMICS. HOWEVER, RELIGION PLAYS AN INDEPENDENT ROLE IN THE FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, CONFLICT, POLITICAL CHANGE, AND DEMOCRACY. MOREOVER, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM MERITS MUCH MORE ATTENTION AS A FACTOR IN HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY.

THE 1948 UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPRESENTED A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO THE SUPPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM BY SOVEREIGN STATES, BUT ITS APPLICATION WAS FRUSTRATED BY THE COLD WAR. TODAY, RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION REMAINS EXTREMELY WIDESPREAD AND SERIOUS, BUT A GROWING OPPOSITION TO IT IS STRENGTHENING THE HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THIS TREND IS BEING OFFSET BY SEVERAL FACTORS, INCLUDING CORPORATE OPPOSITION TO STRONG HUMAN RIGHTS ACTION, WHICH IS IMPEDING THE MOVEMENT TO HOLD ABUSIVE GOVERNMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTS.

WITH DIMINISHING GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL PROGRAMS AT HOME AND IN DEVELOPMENT AID PROGRAMS ABROAD, THE IMPORTANCE OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO'S) IS INCREASING. NGO'S WITH A RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT ARENA. IN FACT, THEY MAY PROVE TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND LASTING OF DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES.

THE DECLINE IN THE TRADITIONAL VALUES THAT HAVE SUSTAINED MODERN STATES AND CRISES DUE TO THE WEAKENING OF THE STATE AT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL HAVE BOTH BEEN CAUSED BY RELIGIOUS ACTIVISM AND HAVE OPENED THE DOOR TO GREATER INVOLVEMENT OF RELIGION IN POLITICS. THIS PAPER CONSIDERS THESE DEVELOPMENTS, FOCUSING ON THE CASES OF INDIA AND THE MUSLIM WORLD.

THE PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS AN IMPORTANT FOREIGN POLICY GOAL FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, WHICH HAS BEGUN TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC CONCERNS ABOUT RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD. IN FURTHER DEVELOPING ITS POLICY RESPONSES, WASHINGTON SHOULD EXPAND ITS CONCERNS, ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROBLEM, HIGHLIGHT THE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH, AND WORK WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, ESPECIALLY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES.