Twenty-five of the world’s most prominent experts met in Oslo, Norway on September 20–21, to participate in the Mission and Religious Freedom – Symposium 2023, organized by the Fjellhaug International University College. The Symposium aimed to focus on the interrelations between Christian mission and religious freedom, both from a theological perspective, as well as from a human rights perspective. The IIRF provided two out of four plenary speakers.
Prof. Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham, Executive Editor of the International Journal for Religious Freedom (IJRF) gave the opening plenary focusing on the relationship between missions and FORB. She noted that missions have been focused on the 10/40 window – a part of the world where religious nationalism dominates and religious minorities often are not tolerated. She asked the question of whether missionaries are sufficiently prepared to face persecution and able to train new believers in resilience in the face of persecution. Other speakers addressed some of these questions during the conference. Janet’s ultimate point is that missions are about creating disciples, not just martyrs.
Our International Director, Dr. Dennis P. Petri, highlighted one of our flagship projects, the Violent Incidents Database (VID).
Dr. Petri explained how the VID meticulously distinguishes between physical and non-physical violence, employing diverse data sources such as digital media and field interviews. The detailed records within the database encompass critical information, including geographic location, date, incident nature, responsible actor, religion of victim(s), and relevant web sources when available. These features collectively enhance the VID’s reliability, establishing it as a valuable resource for comprehending and addressing violations of religious freedom.
Dr. Petri emphasized the database’s encouragement of public participation through an online incident reporting form. The VID represents a pioneering initiative by the IIRF, committed to collecting, recording, and analyzing incidents related to religious freedom violations. Explore the data at www.violentincidents.com.
Prof. Dr. Christof Sauer, IIRF Senior Consultant, explored the feasibility of creating a Mission Hostility Index out of unpublished data resulting from the research for the World Watch List of Open Doors International.
Daniel Hofer developed a classification of the interrelations between persecution of Christians and conversion to Christ from the data of the largest compendium of mission studies in the 21st century, the Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series.
Fjellhaug International University College is a valued partner of the IIRF. The university is actively engaged in a faculty research project focused on Religious Freedom and Religious Persecution. As part of this initiative, Christof Sauer, Senior Consultant at IIRF, has been appointed as a research professor for the academic year 2023–2024 to provide expert guidance on the project.
We are excited to share that the outcomes of this collaborative effort will be featured in a special issue of the International Journal for Religious Freedom.