KNOX THAMES
​Knox Thames is a globally recognized human rights lawyer, advocate, and author who has dedicated over two decades of his career to promoting human rights, defending religious minorities, and combating persecution worldwide.
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Over his 20 years of service in the U.S. government, Knox held several key positions advocating for freedom of religion or belief, including at the State Department and two different U.S. government foreign policy commissions. A career spanning service under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, Knox has extensive experience in South/Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and U.S. foreign policy related to global affairs, religion, and human rights. ​Known for his nonpartisan approach to advocacy, both the Obama and Trump administrations appointed Knox as the Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South / Central Asia at the State Department.
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Currently, Knox is a Senior Fellow at Pepperdine University and directs the Program on Global Faith and Inclusive Societies from the Washington, DC, campus. A research initiative supported by the Templeton Religion Trust, the Program pioneers innovative strategies to foster religious freedom, pluralism, and interfaith cooperation through policy engagement, cultural heritage, and storytelling. ​​
During his 25-year career, Knox has also worked at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission), the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), AmeriCorps VISTA, and the U.S. Army War College as an Adjunct Research Professor.
Others frequently seek his expertise. From 2020 to 2025, he served as a non-resident Senior Visiting Expert at the United States Institute of Peace, where he advised on strategic religious engagement and peacemaking. Additionally, he is a member of the advisory board for the Strategic Religious Engagement Hub at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. He is also part of the Panel of Experts for the Article 18 Alliance and serves as an advisor to the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Furthermore, he has consulted for the McCain Institute and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. From 2004 to 2012, he was appointed by the State Department to the OSCE Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He was also a finalist for the position of UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
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Knox has spoken before the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Organization of American States, the OSCE, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Foreign Service Institute, and U.S. military war colleges. He has written extensively, including for USA Today, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, TIME, CNN, The Dispatch, Christianity Today, Newsweek, the Harvard Human Rights Journal, the Yale Journal of International Affairs, among others. His new book, Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom (Notre Dame Press, 2024), comprehensively explores strategies to combat religious oppression worldwide. He was also the primary author of International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law and NGOs (Baylor, 2011), which has become a foundational resource for advocates and practitioners. In addition, his creative work includes producing a graphic novel about his late friend Shahbaz Bhatti and writing a screenplay that highlights religious peacemakers in Iraq during their sectarian civil war.
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Originally from Kentucky, he received a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown College, a Juris Doctorate (cum laude) from American University's Washington College of Law, and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the School of International Service at American University. In addition, he studied at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.
