For Human Rights and Civic Freedom: Movements for Democratic Change in the Arab World (2012)

As a Christian community based in the United States, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) affirms our heritage of separating government from religious control and yet allowing faith communities to witness for fair and wise public policies. In the Arab world, and the larger Muslim world, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supports practices of mutual respect, tolerance, and understanding based on principles of international law and diplomacy. Aware of historic differences between Muslim and Christian understandings, the church sees these addressed best through dialogue, diplomacy, and respectful presence that recognize the importance of religion in societies. This approach is to give religious leaders standing in public debate without making religion an instrument of the state, or vice versa.