Speaking on the "Washington Watch" radio program, Former Congressman Frank Wolf, said America used to do a better job of educating its citizens about Christians being persecuted around the globe.
He said: "Most churches used to have a Religious Freedom Sunday where they would bring in somebody from Sudan and China. And now, they are almost all gone.
"Unless there is change in the hearts and minds of people, I think the fundamental failure has been the Church.
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, 'If you don't speak and you don't act...' I don't see the Church speaking and I don't see the Church acting."
His comments came as the US celebrated National Religious Freedom Day earlier this week.
Mr Wolf, who served two decades representing Virginia's 10th congressional district and now serves as a senior fellow at the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, is a staunch supporter of religious freedom.
He first introduced the IRFA bill to promote religious freedom as a foreign policy of the United States in 1997.
Mr Wolf recommended religious figures needed to be more like Martin Luther King Jr.
"I think we need some men like Martin Luther King," he said.
"I think we need pastors to go to jail...They may very well have to go to jail to wake up this country."
When asked if he thinks there is a "change on the horizon" following President Donald Trump's administration's vow to protect religious freedom, Mr Wolf said he was "not encouraged".
He recommended churches across the nation hold Religious Freedom Sundays and to host events where persecuted Christians from around the world could speak about the persecution they faced in their home countries.
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