Religious freedom focus of upcoming symposium
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on August 28, 2024.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com The importance of religious freedom to Canadians will be discussed in a Sept. 21 symposium at Southminster United Church.An ad hoc group of citizens called Lethbridge Friends of Religious Freedom will be hosting the symposium that runs from 10 am. until 4 p.m. that day with three high-profile keynote speakers who will be supported by nine other local clergy, spiritual and academic leaders from city and Indigenous faiths traditions.
The focus of the event is “Can freedom of religion be a driving force for unity in society?”
Keynote speakers include law professor Steve Collis from the University of Texas, Emeritus president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Bruce J. Clemenger and Father Andrew Bennett who is program director of Faith Communities, Cardus and former ambassador for Religious Freedom for Canada from 2013-16 under the Stephen Harper government.
Local panelists include Ramona Big Head, Dr. David Stewart, Dr. Atif Khalil, Erin Leclerc, Mark Slingerland, Daniel Zapoula, Diana Sims, Zachary Hampton and Father Tumbuk.
Symposium tickets are $20 and available at Eventbrite.ca by searching Lethbridge Religious Freedom. They can also be purchased at the door on the day of the event.
In a recent phone interview, Low said “it’s actually a religious freedom or belief symposium. It’s basically some friends of mine that have gotten together – it’s an ad hoc group of people who feel like religious freedom, which is of course protected under the Charter of Rights, is something that is not necessarily valued in society as much as it should be.
“And so the idea is to try and increase the awareness among people of the importance of religious freedom to a society as a whole. Obviously, religious people are interested in this but religious freedom has broader implications for a society,” said Low.
The speakers, who are experts in religious freedom, are donating their time for the symposium, he said.
Speakers will discuss how religious freedom can help in society, especially with polarization, he said.
“We see so much division and polarization out there – politically, philosophically and culture and religious freedom in its true sense can really help that polarization, it can help to unity. Because really at the heart of religious is tolerance and understanding and respect. People learn to respect and get along and tolerate with other people who have different beliefs and different lifestyles. And that’s really the essence of religious freedom.
“And that’s really the target objective from this symposium is really helping people understand that this is something that we all need to learn about and value people’s rights to differ and differ respectfully,” added Low.
An issue that’s “concerning to all of us is we need to learn how to differ and respect other peoples’ rights to differ in their beliefs and their lifestyles and do that respectfully. That’s what really keeps a democracy going. If we get to the point where we don’t and can’t tolerate other people because of their beliefs, then we’re really going to lose the freedoms that we all cherish,” said Low.
Low expects the speakers to give insights into what has changed over the years and why the world has become so polarized. Collis will be talking about religious freedom and peacemaking in a polarized age, for example he said. He will address why religious freedom is under threat and what can be done about it and how that freedom can benefit society as whole by being more unified. Clemenger will be talking about religious freedom, political creeds and limited governments while Bennett will discuss how Canadians engage religion and some of the implications for religious freedom and the ability to live a fully public faith in Canada.
The nine panelists will speak in groups of three after each of the keynote addresses.
“We tried to get a really broad representation of different faith communities to come be part of this,” said Low, noting even people who don’t belong to any particular faith but have an interest in cultural issues, society and polarization issues would benefit from the symposium.
“They will learn about how religious freedom can benefit a society, even to people who are not religious. It’s not just a matter of letting people have the freedom to go to church and worship in the way they want.” 5
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