Prioritizing Faith: International Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy

On Wednesday, November 12, the Clements Center for National Security and America in the World Consortium hosted Ashlyn Hand for a book talk on Prioritizing Faith: International Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy.

Ashlyn Hand is a postdoctoral fellow and Assistant Director for Advancement and Partnerships at the Center for Presidential History at SMU, where she studies U.S. foreign policy, religion, and national security.

Her new book, Prioritizing Faith: International Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy, was published by NYU Press in September 2025. She earned her Ph.D. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin in 2021 and previously held fellowships with the America in the World Consortium at Johns Hopkins SAIS and Duke University. Her research explores how ideas, institutions, and presidential leadership shape U.S. engagement in the world, and her work has appeared in Foreign Policy, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, and the Journal of Church and State.

In addition to her academic work, she conducts strategy consulting for the federal government on issues of U.S. grand strategy and international affairs. She is also a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.