"These new directors represent some of America's best in Christian social witness, theological fidelity and commitment to international religious liberty." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Three distinguished Christian leaders have joined the board of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a Washington think tank, religious liberty proponent and leading critic of the religious left. They were elected this month as IRD celebrated its 30th anniversary with a lecture by IRD co-founder Michael Novak, the distinguished Catholic thinker and ethicist.

Dr. Kenneth J. Collins, an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, is former president of the Wesleyan Theological Society and an internationally recognized scholar in the field of Historical Theology and Wesley studies. Currently a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, Collins has authored or edited over a dozen books.

Dr. Thomas F. Farr, a former American diplomat, is a leading authority on international religious freedom. Dr. Farr served as the first director of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom from 1999-2003. Currently Visiting Associate Professor of Religion and International Affairs at Georgetown's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Dr. Farr directs the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.

Fr. Johannes Jacobse, an Antiochian Orthodox priest, is president of the American Orthodox Institute, a research and educational organization that engages the cultural issues of the day within the Orthodox Christian moral tradition. Fr. Jacobse edits the website Orthodoxy Today that discusses social and moral issues from an Orthodox Christian and the larger Judeo/Christian framework.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"The election of these outstanding leaders signals a new era for the IRD, which is observing its 30th anniversary this year.

"These new directors represent some of America's best in Christian social witness, theological fidelity and commitment to international religious liberty.

"Father Jacobse for many years has thoughtfully challenged Eastern Orthodox prelates' often unthinking alignment with the failed politics of ecumenical groups like the National and World Councils of Churches. Dr. Collins is a distinguished Wesleyan scholar who is soon to publish a new, ground-breaking book on the Evangelical Left. Dr. Farr is and outstanding proponent of international religious freedom whose 2008 book World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty is Vital to American National Security argued that U.S. policy must not ignore the persecuted.

"All three new directors embody IRD's 30 year commitment to theologically faithful churches that thoughtfully translate faith into service in our democracy. IRD's founders, struggling against church groups often on the wrong side during the Cold War, would approve IRD's continued commitment to faith and international human rights as we enter our 4th decade."