Washington — There must be a sensible balance between freedom of religion and freedom of speech, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“An individual’s ability to practice his or her religion has no bearing on others’ freedom of speech,” Clinton said at a special briefing October 26 marking the release of the 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.

“The protection of speech about religion is particularly important since persons of different faiths will inevitably hold divergent views on religious questions,” she said. “These differences should be met with tolerance, not with the suppression of discourse.”

The best antidote to intolerance, Clinton said, is a combination of robust legal protections against discrimination and hate crimes, government outreach to minority religious groups, and the vigorous defense of both freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

“Some claim that the best way to protect the freedom of religion is to implement so-called anti-defamation policies that would restrict freedom of expression and the freedom of religion. I strongly disagree,” she said, referring to efforts by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to advance within the United Nations the concept of “defamation of religions.” (The OIC is an intergovernmental organization comprising 57 states with significant Muslim populations.)

“The United States,” the secretary said, “will always seek to counter negative stereotypes of individuals based on their religion and will stand against discrimination and persecution.”

Freedom of religion is a founding principle of the United States — but it is a universal value, not just an American value, Clinton said. “It is a freedom guaranteed to all people in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” she said.

Full text of secretary Clinton's remarks.