Kenya hosted Africa’s first international religious freedom summit, with representatives from around the world convened in Nairobi in mid-June deliberating on “Together Africa: Continental Call for Religious Call for Freedom of Religion.”
The assembly brought together a diverse coalition of global and local experts, senior officials, senior officials, faith leaders and civil society stakeholders, and was jointly agreed by Pepperdine University, the Institute for Religious Freedom (RFI) and the Global Peace Foundation (GPF).
The summit aims to promote movement for freedom of religion or belief (FORB) on the world’s fastest-growing continent.
“This summit marks a critical moment for Africa,” said Mullah Obasanjo, co-chair of IRF Summit Africa, former first lady in Nigeria. “We are proud to lead this continent’s efforts to defend our diversity, defend our right to stregrate our unity, and to uplift the souls of our nation.
Her hometown has been the epicenter of religious persecution for the past decade. According to Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watchlist, 3,100 Christians were killed, 2,830 were lured in Nigeria alone in 2024, and Rwanda experienced the closure of 4,000 Christian churches due to state regulations regarding unregistered churches.
The director of Open Doors said, “In 32 years of study, we recorded a steady increase in anti-Christian persecution in absolute terms. 2024 is once again a year of intolerance.
The Report from Aid from Aid (ACN) identifies 13 African countries out of 28 people Christians face the most severe persecution worldwide, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Mali and Sudan.
While some situations in Africa can be described as “disastrous,” there is also a “cause of hope,” as Ambassador Sam Brownback, co-chair of the IRF Summit and former US ambassador stated for international religious freedom. He believed that the summit would be “a turning point for bringing together diverse coalitions that could truly advance this fundamental human rights across Africa.”
Pepperdine University President Jim Gash said, “Religious freedom is the cornerstone of human dignity and Pepperdine University’s mission. We are proud to stand up to Africa and the global community and to advance this important right.” Similarly, RFI President David Trimble pointed out that the summit “provides the foundation” for the collaborative efforts needed to face “a great threat to people of African faith.”
A series of fascinating panels and conversations formed the core of the Summit’s programming. The session entitled “Religious Freedom and State Regulation: New Challenges in Africa” also discussed alternative solutions focusing on self-regulation, delving into the trends of African countries passing laws to regulate religious organizations and practitioners, examining their strengths and weaknesses and their impact on internationally recognized rights to religious freedom.
The central focus of many debates was the profound influence of African values. The panel, “African Values and Religious Freedom – Advances Africa’s Religious Freedom” specifically explored the important role of ubuntu’s joint ethics. This value resonated throughout the day’s dialogue as a cultural foundation for coexistence and religious freedom. Representatives engaged in critical conversations on how African values could guide reforms in justice and governance, strengthen multifaceted collaboration, and act as catalysts for religious freedom.
The session, “Faith Leaders as Ethical Innovators: Advance Religious Freedom as a Catalyst for the African Renaissance,” highlighted how religious leaders, rooted in both spiritual beliefs and the African tradition of collective responsibility, serve as drivers of social cohesion. The panel explored practical strategies that could help faith leaders defend religious freedom, promote inter-infidelity collaboration, promote governance based on integrity and inclusion, and encourage systematic change, such as developing inter-indigenous networks, implementing empowerment programs for youth, and utilizing digital platforms for advocacy and education.
Mrs. Philomena Mbeta Muwlu, Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya, launched the main session with a call for justice “rooted in the Kenya Constitution and the moral traditions of Africa.” The human influence of religious persecution has been brought to the forefront through the testimony of powerful survivors. Individuals who simply endured persecution because of their faith shared accounts of detention, discrimination and asylum directly.
Among them was Mubarak Bala, a Nigerian who had suffered years of imprisonment for blasphemy. These deep and personal stories tell us, “both calm reminders and a call to moral action,” that “religious freedom is a moral obligation, a fundamental right for everyone, anywhere.”
The involvement of the judicial numbers was a critical feature of bringing together chief judiciary and other justice leaders from across the continent in a session called “Exploring effective judicial innovation in religious freedom conflicts.” This cross-cultural exchange aims to strengthen regional cooperation and promote the development of alternative conflict resolution models tailored to the diverse religious and cultural contexts of Africa. Such prominent judicial involvement was seen as providing “long-term reliability and institutional ownership” to the initiative, laying the foundation for ongoing engagement beyond the forum, and inspires “an innovative, rights-based solution that balances religious freedom, national unity and the rule of law.”
Despite peaceful youth-led protests that occurred in Nairobi on the morning of the summit and sparked initial concerns about safety and mobility, the “overpowered crowd” at the Safari Park Hotel sent an unmistakable message.
Dr. Paul Murray, Vice President of International Initiatives for Religious Freedom at the Global Peace Foundation, declared, “This summit is not just a gathering, it is a call for action on the continent,” summarizing the deep importance of the event.
