Conversations with America: Religion and Foreign Policy

On 23 January 2012, Suzan Johnson Cook, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, was joined by Dr. Chris Seiple, President of the Institute for Global Engagement, in a discussion of “Religion and Foreign Policy,” as part of the State Department’s online video series “Conversations with America.” 

Dr. Seiple and Ambassador Cook, among others, serve as Co-Chairs to the Religion and Foreign Policy working group of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Strategic Dialogue for Civil Society.

Conversations with America features live interviews between the leaders of nongovernmental organizations and the State Department’s leadership. It is organized by the State Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs. The Religion and Foreign Policy webcast included anecdotes from the participants’ travels around the world engaging with religious leaders and a consideration of the basic importance of religious freedom in “the American DNA.” The discussion touched upon on the structure and impact of Secretary Clinton’s Strategic Dialogue for Civil Society.

The discussion was moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, and featured questions from the public. A 36-minute clip of the webcast is available here.