Elder L. Whitney Clayton. Photo by Madeline Mortensen, BYU Photo.
The fifth Religious Freedom Annual Review of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies has concluded on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Some 500 participants in the event heard US media, legal, and religious leaders speak on topics such as why religious freedom matters, how to find common ground with LGBTQ rights, religious freedom in the media, and how to promote religious freedom in their communities.
Keynote speakers were Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Emma Green, religion specialist writer for the Atlantic and recipient of the 2017 Religion... more
Elder L. Whitney Clayton. Photo by Madeline Mortensen, BYU Photo.
by Andrew Birkinsha, 2018 ICLRS Student Fellow
The welcome and keynote session Wednesday Morning was given by Elder L. Whitney Clayton, senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His remarks focused on how religious identity deserves the same legal and social considerations being given to racial, gender, and sexual identities.
In his speech, “In the Marrow of Their Bones: A Latter-day Saint Experience of Religion as Identity”, Elder Clayton highlighted his, and the church’s, pioneer heritage. He indicated that religious beliefs are not just a common choice, but an integral part of people’s lives, a “foundation of character.” He expressed fear that society sees religion as a dangerous and outdated way of thinking that should be cast aside as soon as possible. Elder Clayton closed by claiming that government should not be allowed to constrain religion to private homes as if it were a disease, and that rights to religious thoughts and beliefs should be equal to the claims of other minorities.
Emma Green. Photo by Gabriel Mayberry, BYU Photo.
by Diana Flores, 2018 ICLRS Student Fellow
In the 21 June 2018 keynote session, W. Cole Durham Jr., Founding Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, welcomed participants to the second day of the Religious Freedom Review. Emma Green, religion specialist writer for the Atlantic and recipient of the 2017 Religion News Association’s award for excellence in religion-news analysis, gave the keynote address on the legal and political landscape of religious liberty.
Emma Green began by stating that an era of fracture has developed during the Trump administration and this current political climate. She believes that the biggest legacy to come from this time is a legacy of division, of internal grappling over identity. She explained that this is relevant to religious freedom because the way communities define and think about... more
The 2017 Religious Freedom Annual Review, hosted by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) of BYU Law School, took place 6-7 July 2017 at the Conference Center on the campus of Brigham Young University.
Watch this space for links to recordings and photographs of the event. And please see the links below for radio interviews with participants and local news coverage.
Among the highlights of this outstanding event were a keynote address by Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, followed by an opening General Session featuring addresses by Brett G. Scharffs, Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (whose title was "Religious Freedom as an Article of Faith") and Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation and former... more
Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona was the keynote speaker at the 2017 Religious Freedom Annual Review, held July 6-7, 2017, in the Conference Center on the Campus of Brigham Young University. Hosted by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies of BYU Law School, the Annual Review provides an up-to-date review for lawyers and nonlawyers on religious freedom challenges in the United States and around the world.
Senator Flake's keynote address is available on the Center's Facebook page.
As a member of the US Senate, Senator Flake sits on the Judiciary Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Foreign Relations Committee where he also serves as chairman of Subcommittee on African Affairs. Senator Flake is a fifth-generation Arizonan who was raised on a cattle ranch in Snowflake, Arizona. The town was named in part for Senator Flake's great-great grandfather. After serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of... more
The 2016 Religious Freedom Annual Review of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) has concluded at Brigham Young University. Keynote speakers for the event, which took place 7-8 July 2016 in BYU Conference Center, were Elder Lance B. Wickman, General Counsel and Emeritus General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who opened the conference with an address "Promoting Religious Freedom in a Secular Age: Fundamental Principles, Practical Priorities, and Fairness for All"; and Matthew S. Holland, President, Utah Valley University, whose remarks were titled "Religious Liberty v. Secularity: Is the American Founding Still Useful?"
To access the recordings and photos from the July 2016 Religious Freedom Annual Review, please click here. ... more
Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert, Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson of the University of Illinois College of Law, and Director W. Cole Durham Jr. of BYU Law School's International Center for Law and Religion Studies were among the experts participating in the 2015 Religious Freedom Annual Review," Fairness for All," sponsored by the Center and hosted July 6-8 by BYU Continuing Education.
Click to view conference
The purpose of the event was to provide an update for lawyers and nonlawyers on religious freedom challenges in the... more
Experts on the law and religious freedom spoke at the conference "Religious Freedom in a Secular World," at the Brigham Young University Conference Center 7-9 July 2014. This was the inaugural conference of what will become the Religious Freedom Annual Review, providining up-to-date information on the status of laws impacting religious freedom in the United States and around the world. CLE credit is available for lawyers in attendance at these events.
The faculty of the BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies and selected experts including William F. Atkin, Thomas C. Berg, Michael W. Durham, Alexander Dushku, J. Clifton Fleming, Frederick Mark Gedicks, Luke Goodrich, Brian Grim, David Hacker, Alan Hurst, Scott Isaacson, Michael A. Jensen, Richard Moon, David Moore, Steven M. Sandberg... more