The swirl of criticism around the creation of the Office of Religious Freedom distracts from the more important issue of the role of religion in world affairs.

The ORF will be a branch of the Foreign Affairs Department. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has said the office will promote religious freedom; he has not said how the office will accomplish this. Groups such as Amnesty International are concerned with this lack of transparency. The government has rebuffed requests for information and been evasive when answering questions.