Our Strategy
Faith is decisive in the struggle for democracy.
Faith communities are trusted. They are rooted in neighborhoods, able to mobilize quickly, and carry traditions of solidarity that cut across divides. Faith gives courage to strive for societies where all can flourish with dignity and respect. This makes them indispensable in countering authoritarianism.
Authoritarian politicians understand this power and ally with religious actors. From the United States and Brazil to Turkey, Hungary and India, they cloak their politics in sacred symbols, bend laws to their advantage, and marginalize minorities.
Values like God, family, and country resonate deeply with people of faith. But in authoritarian hands, they are manipulated into tools of exclusion. Faith is turned from a force for community into a weapon of division.
Faith actors are caught in the middle of this storm — targeted with disinformation, political pressure, and propaganda designed to divide communities and erode the cohesion that sustains democracy. Learn more about how authoritarian movements weaponize religion →
Yet, faith has always been a force for resistance.
Faith is not the problem. Faith is part of the solution.
Faith-based democracy defenders exist everywhere. Clergy, scholars, activists, and communities are already standing up for pluralism and rights. But they are isolated, underfunded, and often overlooked. Civil society mobilizes, but rarely connects with faith at scale. A vital ally is missing from the front line of defending democracy.
Skill
Building
We train faith and civic leaders to understand and respond to how religion is used to undermine democracy.
Network for Change
We connect democracy defenders across faiths and borders to share knowledge and coordinate action.
Strategy
Support
We equip faith-rooted leaders with the skills to depolarize communities and lead campaigns that unite citizens to pursue democratic principles even across lines of difference.
We connect them across borders into a global, interdisciplinary network. We amplify their voices with strategies that reclaim moral language for democracy and counter authoritarian disinformation.
By 2035, we will have equipped 5,000 faith-based defenders in more than 30 countries to shift narratives, lead campaigns, and reverse authoritarian policies around the globe.
Religion has become central to the rise of authoritarianism. But it can also be central to its defeat. With faith communities connected, trained, and resourced, democracy can be defended where it is most vulnerable.
