The French government has prohibited French athletes from wearing religious garb while competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. As such, French athletes who wish to wear religious garb are forced to choose between adhering to their sincerely held religious beliefs and competing at the highest level of sport. This tight regulation of religious expression is not unusual in France, where the government has enacted similarly strict restrictions on wearing religious garb in public spaces. France has also seen a proliferation of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, as well as governmental anti-cult efforts negatively impacting religious organizations.

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, Supervisory Policy Analyst Scott Weiner and Researcher Luke Wilson discuss the French government’s worrying restrictions on wearing religious garb in the public sphere.

With Contributions from:

Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Luke Wilson, Researcher, USCIRF

Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In 1998, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating USCIRF as an independent government Commission led by a bipartisan group of nine Commissioners appointed by both political party leaders in Congress, and by the president. Twenty-five years later, USCIRF’s Commissioners continue to lead the non-partisan staff to monitor egregious religious freedom violations around the world and to make independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck and Vice Chair Eric Ueland join us to discuss USCIRF's bipartisan nature and its unique framework to ensure international religious freedom remains a bipartisan issue in U.S. foreign policy.

Read USCIRF’s 2024 Annual Report

With Contributions from:

Stephen Schneck, Chair, USCIRF

Eric Ueland, Vice Chair, USCIRF

Jamie Staley, Acting Director of Research & Policy, USCIRF

Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

One of USCIRF’s key functions is to make recommendations to the State Department about which countries we think should be designated as Countries of Particular Concern or CPCs, based on our independent research and analysis. Every year we await the State Department’s announcement of its religious freedom designations to assess how they match up with USCIRF’s recommendations.

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper and Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie join us to discuss the State Department’s most recent CPC designations—specifically the countries we think should have been added to this list including India, Nigeria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Syria. 

Read USCIRF’s Press Release on the 2023 State Department IRF Designations

With Contributions from:

Abraham Cooper, Chair, USCIRF

Frederick A. Davie, Vice Chair, USCIRF

Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRF

Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF