Lauren Markoe, Religion News Service 10:33 a.m. ET Feb. 24, 2017

Pope Francis addresses a joint session of Congress on Sept. 24, 2014 in Washington.(Photo: Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., earned the highest scores on a first-of-its kind report card forfederal lawmakers on internationalreligious freedom issues.

Thescorecardrated senators on 14 legislative votes and representatives on 25 in the legislative session that began in January 2015 and ended in December 2016, and then factored in caucus work on the issue during that period.

The ranking was released by the21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, a nonprofit group that advocatesfor religious freedom. Its website says it does that from a distinctly Christian perspective while working on behalf of all individuals regardless of religion, belief, ethnicity, or location.

The scorecard focused on legislatorsresponses to measuressuch as a Senate resolution condemning Iran for its treatment of its Bahai minority, and House resolutions on the protection of Coptic churches in Egypt and on combating anti-Semitism in Europe.

Thereport concludes that while both Republicans and Democrats should have done better, with most scoring lower than an A or B, the Senate has been less engaged in promoting religious freedom than the House.

The reports authors said they hoped the scorecard would encourage recognition of those who prioritize international religious freedom issuesand inspire legislators to pay more attention to those oppressed abroad because of their religious identity or practice.

Having served 34 years in Congress, I know that the International Religious Freedom Congressional Scorecard is a much-needed tool, said former Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a distinguished senior fellow at the Wilberforce Initiative who made religious freedom abroad a focus of his tenure in the House.

Support for theFrank R. Wolf International Freedom Act, which calls for stronger U.S. responses to religious freedom violations abroad, increased senators and representatives scorecard grades. The actwas signed into law by then-President Obama in 2016.

The 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative is named afterWilliam Wilberforce, an English parliamentarian, evangelical Christian and leader in the late 18th and early 19th centuries of the movement to abolish slavery.

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First scorecard on international religious freedom rates members of Congress - USA TODAY