The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 made religious liberty a formal US foreign policy priority

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom monitors and reports on religious persecution

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal commission that tracks religious freedom conditions worldwide and provides policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 restricted the government's ability to limit religious practice

Congress enacted RFRA in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Employment Division v. Smith. The law requires the government to use the least restrictive means before substantially burdening an individual's religious exercise.

Native religious practices were suppressed for centuries before receiving federal protection in 1978

During the first two centuries of American history, the government frequently banned Native ceremonial dances, took sacred sites, and enrolled children in boarding schools where they were prevented from practicing their faith. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 committed the federal government to safeguarding Native spiritual practices.

Explore the state of religious freedom around the world

This interactive tool visualizes government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion across countries worldwide. It enables users to compare nations and monitor changes over time.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, which directly influenced the US Constitution

Drafted by Jefferson, the statute guaranteed freedom of worship to people of all faiths. Jefferson considered it one of his greatest achievements, and it served as the direct model for the First Amendment's religion clauses.

A primer on USAID under the Trump Administration

The Congressional Research Service is a nonpartisan group dedicated solely to responding to questions and providing deeply researched explanations to members of Congress and their staff. The overview lays out the establishment of the US Agency for International Development in 1961, legal restrictions on its elimination, and options to restructure or fold USAID into other departments.

In 2024, the US committed about $82.3B to foreign aid.

That year, 67.2% of foreign aid was for economic purposes, and the remaining 32.8% was for military purposes. Israel received more US foreign aid than any other country in 2024.

In a letter, George Washington assured a Jewish congregation that the new government gives 'to bigotry no sanction'

In 1790, President Washington visited Newport's Touro Synagogue and received a welcoming letter from its warden. Washington's reply—considered his clearest statement on religious tolerance—assured the congregation that under the new government, religious freedom would be protected as a fundamental right.

Anti-money laundering laws forcing banks to report data have become important foreign policy tools

Since the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which required banks to report transactions exceeding $10K and keep records on customers, anti-money laundering laws have become an important proxy for American foreign policy initiatives. Increased regulation via financial institutions helps curb drug and human trafficking, as well as destabilize the financial infrastructure for terrorist organizations.

The Fair Labor Standards Act gave workers more time for vacations

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 guaranteed time off for full-time employees, offering the opportunity for more vacations. Passed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and celebrated by the labor movement, the law limited working hours, established overtime pay, and provided a minimum wage.

Trump's 2025 asylum suspension departed from a policy framework in place since 1980

In January 2025, President Trump issued an executive order suspending the asylum program and halting application processing at the southern border. This represents a departure from recent American asylum policy traditions and international humanitarian commitments.

The 1951 Refugee Convention established international refugee rights and state obligations amid mass World War II displacement

The international treaty defines refugee status and outlines refugees' entitled rights while establishing state obligations to protect them. The UNHCR explains the convention's significance in creating the legal framework governing refugee protection worldwide.

Immigration enforcement shows how federalism plays out on the ground

In recent years, federalism has shifted from allowing policy diversity across states to open conflict, with states and the federal government increasingly trying to impose their preferences on one another over issues like abortion, voting, immigration, and public health.

A map of religious radio stations in the US

A Pew analysis of 440,000 hours of broadcasts found more than 4,000 faith-based AM/FM stations reach 98% of American adults (out of a total of 17,000 licensed stations). Ownership is highly concentrated, with the top 30% of stations belonging to large groups; Educational Media Foundation's K-LOVE and Air1 networks alone hold hundreds of licenses nationwide.

Congress regrets discriminatory laws targeting Asian immigrants

In 2011, Congress expressed regrets about discriminatory laws that targeted Asian immigrants, such as the 1875 Page Act. Click here to read one of the twin bills and learn more about the laws in question.

Americans are historically more supportive of free speech than people in most other countries

A 2016 survey of 38 countries found that the US scored highest in support for free expression, with 71% of Americans saying people should be able to say what they want without government censorship, more than in any other nation surveyed.

In addition to collecting taxes, issuing tax refunds, and performing audits, the IRS is tasked with enforcing the laws listed in the Internal Revenue Code

The Internal Revenue Code is also known as Title 26 of the US Code. It was enacted in 1925 and outlines income, estate, sales, payroll, and excise tax laws.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 speech framed World War II as a global fight for universal rights

Eleven months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt outlined four fundamental freedoms that, in his words, people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy—speech, worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

ICE was created in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks

Created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following 9/11, ICE enforces federal immigration, customs, and trade laws under DHS. With over 20,000 staff across 400 global offices and an $8B budget, it focuses on detention, deportation, and cross-border criminal investigations.

The status of federal pay transparency legislation

While many US states have pay transparency laws, no similar legislation has been passed at a federal level. However, the Salary Transparency Act was introduced in Congress in March 2023. For details about what that legislation would mandate and its status in the US House and Senate, click here.

The Bill of Rights toured the United States on the Freedom Train from 1947 to 1949

Alongside the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the Bill of Rights traveled the country for 18 months. Nearly 3.5 million people viewed the documents as they traveled to all 48 contiguous states in the US. (Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states.)

How Lyndon Johnson created public radio

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, part of the president's Great Society plan, established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which later led to the incorporation of National Public Radio. Originally, the bill was intended solely to establish public television; before Johnson signed the act, slips of paper reading "and radio" were literally Scotch-taped next to each mention of "television."

The Department of Justice was formally established in 1870

Passed by Congress in 1870, the Act to Establish the Department of Justice centralized federal legal work under the attorney general, bringing together US attorneys and marshals into a single department.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Why the US State Department sponsored Martha Graham Dance Company tours

The Graham company toured the globe several times on cultural exchange campaigns throughout the 1950s. Some believe that the Graham Company, in particular, was chosen because it was the first integrated dance company in the US, thereby countering international perceptions of American segregation and racism.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided federal aid to tackle inequity in public schools

Signed into law April 11, 1965, ESEA authorized over $1B in grants during its first year—boosting Title I programs which now provide $18.4B annually to support low-income students.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

An Ebola vaccine was developed during the 2018 west African Ebola outbreak, but the 2026 Ebola outbreak is with a different species of the virus, not the one that the vaccine is approved to treat.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.