Mariah Mercer to Present on Religious Freedom for Religious Studies Lecture Series

Mariah Mercer

University of Findlay’s upcoming Religious Studies Lecture Series will feature Mariah Mercer, who will discuss the work the Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) does to promote religious freedom as a core U.S. foreign policy priority. The presentation will be held on Wednesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Winebrenner building’s TLB auditorium. The event is free, open to the public, and sign-in sheets will be available for courses that offer extra credit.

Mercer serves as the East Asia Pacific Unit Chief in the State Department’s Office of IRF. The mission of the IRF Office is to promote religious freedom as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy, monitor religious freedom abuses and discrimination worldwide, recommend and implement policies in respective regions or countries, and develop programs to promote religious freedom.

Mercer joined the Office of International Religious Freedom in 2016. In 2018, she served as Deputy Coordinator for the inaugural Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. She previously served as the senior human rights analyst and as a humanitarian geospatial analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). Prior to joining the State Department, Mercer was a journalist with the Findlay Publishing Company, where she won seven Associated Press Awards. She also served as information officer for the United Nations Information Center in Canberra, Australia.

For more information, visit https://www.findlay.edu/arts-humanities-social-sciences/religious-studies/lecture-series. For questions, contact Cindy Bormuth at cbormuth@findlay.edu.