HumanistsMN is sponsoring a forum to commemorate National Religious Freedom Day by exploring the true meaning of religious freedom, the constitutional principle that keeps government and religion separate and protects the right of Americans of all faiths — or no faith — to practice their beliefs.
Speakers will explore how we can fight efforts to misuse this principle to justify authoritarian government and twist its meaning to legitimize discrimination against LGBTQ people, curtail reproductive rights, deny services, or impose religion in schools.
More than a dozen local and national groups that support secular government are co-sponsoring and tabling at the event.
Learn more about the program and register here.
Event Details
First Unitarian Society
900 Mount Curve Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403
January 17, 2026
Doors open at 8:30am Central. Program begins at 9:15am Central.
Register by Jan. 12 for a buffet lunch for $15.
Learn more about the program and register here.
The Religion of Democracy
Sunday, January 18, 2026
10:30am Central
First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis
Humanism isn’t the opposite of faith – it’s the opposite of authoritarianism. Unitarian minister Curtis Reese, a co-founder of the American Humanist Association, referred to humanism as the “religion of democracy” for a reason – because of our radical belief that truth, morality, and power do not rightly reside in an external source, as theistic systems may claim, but in us. Fish Stark, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, weaves together humanist history, philosophy, psychology, and theology to lay out a blueprint for how UU humanists can lean into the fight against authoritarianism feed our fire of commitment – and present a compelling vision for what we do believe rather than a negative vision of what we don’t. Come for a rousing affirmation that we are not merely subjects of history, but its authors, the very higher power we have been searching for.