Restored or Engaged? The State of Free Exercise of Religion in America

Twenty years after the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, what is the state of religious freedom in the United States? Join some of the country’s leading experts on the religious liberty principles of the First Amendment for a lively exchange on RFRA’s impact, current debates over the health care mandate, and the future of free exercise of religion.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Christian Legal Society, American Jewish Committee, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute invite you to a provocative and timely symposium:

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Knight Conference Center at the Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.

The symposiuim is free, but reservations are required. RSVP online by Oct. 31. Lunch will be provided to participants registered for the entire symposium.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

• Oliver Thomas, religious liberty attorney and chair of the broad coalition that helped draft and enact RFRA
• Doug Laycock, law professor at the University of Virginia and one of the nation’s leading authorities on the law of religious liberty

PANELS:

• History and Impact of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
• Religious Liberty and the Contraception Mandate in the Affordable Care Act
• Free Exercise of Religious in a Diverse Society: Current and Future Challenges