Understanding complex issues requires more than sound bites. Unfortunately, even with a 24/7 news cycle, most broadcast news is reduced to two or three-minute segments, which does not provide much opportunity for reporting nuance. Even print media is limited by space and editorial viewpoint.

When you want to dive deep, consulting a variety of primary sources that offer in-depth analysis can help fill in the gaps. Following are some of my most trusted resources:

Websites to track

• 21Wilberforce
• AEI Ideas, Foreign and Defense Policy
• Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)
• Gatestone Institute
• Hudson Institute, Center for Religious Freedom
• Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD)
• Middle East Forum
• Philos Project
• Providence
• Religious Freedom Institute (RFI)
• U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
• U.S. Department of State
• U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee
• U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Bloggers you want to meet

• Lela Gilbert writes about religious persecution, Israel and the Middle East. Follow her at the Faith and Freedom blog at Newsmax.
• Uzay Bulut writes about Turkey’s ethnic and religious minorities, anti-Semitism, political Islam and the history of Turkey. Follow her at Gatestone Institute.

Source documents

• The 20th Anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act: A Retrospective
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA)
• Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (2016)
• Potomac Declaration (2018)
• Potomac Plan of Action (2018)
• U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Annual Report (2019)
• U.S. Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report (2017)