NEW YORK — Leading a religious freedom event at the United Nations on Monday, President Donald Trump echoed America's founding fathers in asserting that “no right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions.”

Behind the scenes, however, his administration is under growing pressure to take sides in the Middle East's sectarian strife.

Lebanese Christian groups are increasingly worried that their hard-won position in the country is under threat from an influx of Syrians that could permanently alter the balance of power. With more than 1.5 million refugees draining the tiny country's resources, memories are still fresh of the 15-year civil war that was sparked in part by Lebanon's inability to absorb an influx of mostly Muslim Palestinian refugees.

This June, Maronite Catholic bishops from around the world gathered near Beirut to urge the international community to help facilitate the return of Syrian refugees and lift the “heavy burden” that Lebanon faces disproportionately. The return of the refugees, they added, would help preserve Lebanon’s history, heritage and culture.