Constitution and Religion – Separating Church and State in the 21st Century
Event start date
March 6, 2023
On March 6, Freedom and Identity in Central Europe (FICE), together with the Standing for Freedom Center, and the Religious Freedom Institute, will be hosting “Constitution and Religion – Separating Church and State in the 21st Century,” a conference exploring the challenges between religion, the public square, and government. The Institute on Religion and Democracy is proud to announce that its president, Mark Tooley, will be delivering the Closing Remarks. If you would like to sign up for the conference, which will take place from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, you can do so here.
For more details, including date, venue, itinerary, and general information, see below:
Date: March 6, 2023, 5 pm – 8 pm
Venue: 300 Independence Ave SE, Washington DC
“Some separation of the institutions of state and church is typical of many modern constitutional democracies. However, the relationship between religion, the public square, and government is not always straightforward, and it can be challenging to get the balance right. This conference aims to explore these challenges and to consider the ways in which the state and religious institutions can coexist and interact in a manner that respects the rights and freedoms of all individuals and the non-governmental institutions of civil society. The conference will bring together experts from a range of disciplines to discuss the intersection of politics and religion with a focus on Western democracies. In addition to addressing the challenges of right church-state relations, the conference will also examine competing visions of the role of religion in public life, from Europe’s highly diverse landscape to the dynamism of America’s religious landscape. Speakers will discuss the various ways in which different countries have approached the balance between religion and the state and will consider the implications of these approaches for the protection of individual rights and freedoms.”
Arrival (5 – 5:25 pm)
Welcoming words: Lilla Nóra Kiss, PhD (Visiting Scholar, George Mason University, Co-founder, FICE)
Panel on the USA (5:30 – 6:15 pm)
1. Gregory S. Baylor (Senior Counsel, Director, Center for Religious Schools, Alliance Defending
Freedom)
2. John Wesley Reid (Editor-In-Chief, Standing for Freedom Center, Liberty University)
3. Nathaniel Hurd (Director, North America Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute)
Moderator: Arielle Del Turco (Assistant Director, Center for Religious Liberty, Family Research Council)
Break (6:15 – 6:20 pm)
Dinner speech (6:20-6:45 pm)
Mark David Hall, PhD (Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Politics and Faculty Fellow
in the Honors Program, George Fox University)
Break (6:45 – 6:50 pm)
Panel on Europe & Eurasia (6:50 – 7:35 pm)
1. Paul Marshall, PhD (Director, South and Southeast Asia Action Team, Religious Freedom
Institute)
2. Márton Sulyok, PhD (Head of Public Law Center, Mathias Corvinus Collegium)
3. Mónika Palotai (Visiting Fellow, Hudson Institute, Member, FICE)
Moderator: Szabolcs Nagypál, PhD (Head of Law School, Mathias Corvinus Collegium, Hungary)
Closing remarks (7:35 – 7:40 pm): Mark Tooley (President, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Networking (7:40 – 8 pm)