ABSTRACT
This chapter represents an ongoing research programme on religious advocacy and global affairs, including studies of the faith-based movement for human rights and global religious freedom. As a prime engine of globalization, the USA both propels and reflects these forces, perhaps uniquely. The USA is distinct among advanced nations in the vibrancy and political activism of its religious civil society. A pivotal development in propelling the growth of ethno-religious advocacy was the liberalization of US immigration law in 1965, which opened the USA to immigration outside of Europe and expanded communities with kin ties abroad. The character of ethno-religious advocacy brings into contact with contentious foreign policy issues. Looming large in American foreign policy, Israeli-Palestinian conflict has an advocacy infrastructure to match. Washington DC has become a place of contestation among international actors, with groups supporting both Israeli settlers. The chapter adapts from the study Lobbying for the Faithful, directed by the author and published by the Pew Research Centre.
