Protect Our Secular Democracy: A Forum on Religious Freedom

SHOW UP TO CHAMPION SECULAR DEMOCRACY!
SHOW UP TO CHAMPION HUMANIST VALUES!

Doors open at 8:30am. Program begins at 9:15am. Free and open to the public but to help us with planning for this special event -- please also register on Eventbrite.

Come when you can or attend the entire event! Buffet lunch is an "add-on." $15/person. Reserve your lunch spot here by Monday, January 12!

Join local and national leaders who support the separation of church and state to champion the true meaning of "religious freedom" and counter the efforts of those who would distort this constitutional principle to discriminate against LGBTQ people, curtail reproductive rights, deny services, impose religion in schools, and justify authoritarian government.

This half-day event — sponsored by HumanistsMN and culminating with lunch (see details below) — will commemorate National Religious Freedom Day by exploring how we can uphold the constitutional principle of "religious freedom" -- as Christian nationalism and authoritarianism become ever more pervasive in the halls of government.

MORNING SPEAKERS

• Mariko Hirose: "Year in Review and Looking Ahead: The Christian Nationalist Threat to Our Communities." Hirose is chief program officer of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
• Rev. Susan Hayward, "Whose Freedom? Religion and Power from the Global to the Local." Hayward is a Minneapolis scholar and minister specializing in religion, peacebuilding, and human rights; co-host of "America Unexceptionalism," a podcast series about what Americans can learn from people around the world who have resisted religious nationalism.
• A panel of Minnesota legislators discussing what religious freedom means to them, with Sen. Jen McEwen and Rep. Athena Hollins, co-chairs of the Legislature's Secular Government Caucus; Rep. Brion Curran, chair of the Queer Legislators Caucus; and Rep. Andy Smith, an outspoken critic of Christian nationalism.

LUNCHEON SPEAKERS

• Rep. Mike Freiberg, co-chair of the Secular Government Caucus, will receive HumanistsMN's Religious Freedom Champion award.
• Fish Stark, "The Cause of America: Religious Freedom and The Fight Against Tyranny." Stark is executive director of the American Humanist Association (AHA), a national organization representing humanists that has taken a lead in fighting Christian nationalism.
• Beatrice Handlin, who as a student testified for legislation supported by Rep. Freiberg to end religious discrimination in the state-funded Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program.

You are invited to join us for lunch at $15/person.
Please register and pay for the lunch here by Monday, January 12!

SCHEDULE
8:30 a.m. Registration, coffee/tea; visit co-sponsor information tables*
9:15 a.m. Welcome
9:20 a.m. Mariko Hirose
10 a.m. Break (visit co-sponsor info tables)
10:20 a.m. Rev. Susan Hayward
11:00 a.m. Break (visit co-sponsor info tables)
11:15 a.m. Panel of Minnesota legislators
12:00 p.m. Break (visit co-sponsor info tables)
12:15 p.m. Lunch
12:45 p.m. Award to Rep. Mike Freiberg; Beatrice Handlin
1:00 p.m. Fish Stark
1:45 p.m. Visit co-sponsor info tables
2:00 p.m. Program ends

REGISTRATION
Please register for the forum here.
If you plan to attend the lunch, please register and pay here.

*THANKS TO OUR CO-SPONSORS*
ACLU of Minnesota, American Humanist Association, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Christians Against Christian Nationalism Minnesota, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Gender Justice, Health Care for All Minnesota, Jews for a Secular Democracy, Minnesota Atheists, Or Emet, OutFront Minnesota, Secular Student Alliance, SMART Recovery, Vote Common Good.

BACKGROUND ON NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY (Jan. 16)
National Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Jan. 16, 1786. The statute became the basis for the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing the separation of church and state. The U.S. President has proclaimed Religious Freedom Day annually since 1993.