The United States is not doing enough to promote and protect international religious freedom, a panel of advocates warned Congress on Thursday.

Strengthening its religious freedom policies and taking more seriously the position of the ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom are just two issues the Obama administration needs to address, and a good place to start is the State Department, the panel told the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security.

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The work of the State Department, though noble, is ad hoc, said Tom Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown Universitys Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

As a consequence, the United States has had no impact on the global rise of religious persecution, Mr. Farr said. I cannot identify a single country under this administration that has advanced religious freedom or reduced religious persecution.

Katrina Lantos Swett, chairwoman of the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom, said the State Departments bureaucratic culture needs to be addressed, especially considering the impending confirmation of ambassador-at-large nominee Rabbi David Saperstein.

I do think that Rabbi Saperstein will face a challenge of sorts, of confronting the culture at the State Department that has tended to sideline these concerns, Ms. Swett said. I think it is critically important the next ambassador-at-large finds a way to have direct access to the secretary [of state] and to the president.

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Along with giving more voice to the ambassador-at-large, she recommended the administration direct high-ranking officials to speak out on the importance of religious freedom, expand training on international religious freedom for State Department workers, and take more interest and care in designating nations as countries of particular concern, or CPC.

When you have societies that repress, oppress, you create a seabed for extremism, for violence ultimately for the export of terrorism, Ms. Swett said. We need it to become a priority at the State Department, at the administration, at Congress.

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U.S. pushed to protect global religious freedom