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Chicagoland pastors come together to protest religious persecution in US and overseas
By Ray Hanania
Hazel Crest, Il – More than 75 pastors and religious activists from the Chicago area gathered at a southside church Thursday (August 13, 2026) to endorse a joint statement calling for the release of a 95-year-old Christian leader being held in detention in South Korea.
Organized under the title “1st Joint Assembly of World Pastors,” the group linked up through live online streaming video with 2,000 other pastors and religious leaders at dozens of other assembly locations throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia to receive updates on religious persecution and encourage activism through networking.
The Hazel Crest event was held at the Hillcrest Christian Church, 3223 W. 175th Street, and featured a panel discussion led by religious experts that included Dr. Raymond Williams, Pastor Anthony Covington, and Bishop William Ellis, and moderator and Radio Host Naima Latif.
The international assemblies called for the release of Lee Man-hee, founder and Chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, based on Seoul, South Korea, who has been held in detention after being arrested in June 2026 on allegations of political and election interference that he and his associates deny.
The Joint Statement endorsed by the assembly members is titled “Declaration of 2,000 Global Church Leaders for Freedom of Religion and Human Dignity” and calls for the release of Lee, who is 95 years of age.
“Today, approximately 2,000Christian leaders from around the world have gathered here, transcending denominations and borders to protect the freedom of religion and human dignity that are currently under threat,” the Joint Statement signed by all of the attendees at all of the assemblies Thursday.
“The principle of freedom of religion and separation of church and state stipulated in Article 20 of the Constitution of South Korea are not meant for state power to control religion, but are democratic safeguards established for the state to maintain neutrality in the face of religion and to protect the faith of all religions.
“However, in South Korea today, devastating things are happening where specific religions are oppressed under the pretext of an ambiguous ‘public interest’ such as those in power arbitrarily stigmatizing with religious bias and the Office of the President discussing the dissolution of pseudo-religions.”
The Joint Statement warns that if a Democratic government can discriminate against one religion, it can demonstrate against all religions, panelists said in endorsing the statement’s language.
The Joint Statement continued, “Once the state begins to judge and condemn a specific religion as ‘pseudo’ by its arbitrary standards, this will by no means be limited to a specific group, but will become a threat to the pastors and congregation members of all churches, regardless of religion and denomination.”
The event included representatives from many of the largest religious evangelical organizations in the region. It was hosted by the Council for Christian Mutual Growth, Korea Christian Leaders Training Institute, Pastors Alliance for Life and Human Rights.
It was co-hosted by Russian Evangelical Alliance, Missionary Ambassadors for Global Evangelism, Thal Evangelical Alliance Association, South African Leaders Coalition for Faith, Freedom, and Justice, and the Christian Social Justice Association Korean Christian Protestant Self-Reliance Institute, Inc., Alliance of Martyrs Who Protect Life and Human Rights, and the Human Rights Without Frontiers.
Brian Chitambira, who is with Shincheonji leading the effort to free the Shincheonji Church of Jesus leader, also urged the attendees to sign a letter directed to the Republic of Korea Judiciary, calling for Lee’s release.
“Chairman Lee is a prominent figure who has openly engaged with the international community over a long period while maintaining a fixed residence and an established social foundation,” said Brian Chitambira, Shincheonji Lecturer.
“He is currently at an old age, and daily medical assistance and ongoing healthcare are absolutely necessary. For this reason, I deeply worry that prolonged detention could cause irreversible damage to the subject’s health.”
Pastor after pastor argued, “We can no longer remain silent … religion, under the constitution, should be fully protected. … We must stand together, and our effort must unite us.”
They said, “We must protect those who are suffering because of their faith … and must speak out against the religious persecution in Korea. … Oppression continues to grow.”
The Hazel Crest assembly followed by a week an international conference held in Seoul, South Korea which was broadcast online from the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club (SFCC), and attended by international journalists from around the world, the press briefing was hosted by Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) along with CAP Liberté de Conscience (CAP LC), which has accredited ECOSOC status at the United Nations, FOREF, CESNUR and Bitter Winter, the scholars also urged the mainstream news media to address the human rights concerns.
HRWF Associate Director Hans Noot was joined by human rights scholars including CAP Liberté de Conscience (CAPLC) President Thierry Valle, FOREF Germany Executive Director Michael Langhans, CESNUR Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of “Bitter Winter” Massimo Introvigne, and CESNUR Deputy Director Mark Nemes.
The assemblies have argued that Lee has been “denied due process” and insisted that Lee is associated with the same principles that guide all Christian religious leaders regardless of religious denomination: “He embraces peace-building, and international dialogue” and that “religious liberty must be proclaimed” by assembly attendees.
“Global churches cannot remain silent,” they agreed. “We are raising our voices to say religious freedom must be respected. … What we are seeing in South Korea is unprecedented.”
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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