Diplomatic Initiatives for the Classroom: Why Teaching Children to Respect Freedom of Religion or Belief Is Important in Foreign Policy

This article seeks to spotlight the underappreciated role that education can play in promoting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in a global framework. Developing religiously literate students can contribute to a culture of FoRB. To see the fundamental human right of FoRB actualized in a society, more attention and foreign policy resources should be focused on the classes children are enrolled in. How religious studies classes are taught, what materials are used in these classes (textbooks, lessons, etc.) and the quality of the teachers in these classes is crucial to developing societies that protect religious freedom for all. The international community can develop policies to promote FoRB in education. Without more attention to the educational environment in societies, religious intolerance is likely to persist, and the goal of FoRB is unlikely to be realized.