Gov. Gary R. Herbert will speak on preserving religious freedoms at the Religious Freedom Annual Review at BYU Wednesday, July 8.
“Gov. Herbert is and has always been a staunch supporter of religious freedom,” Herber’s spokesman Marty Carpenter said. “The governor looks forward to addressing attendees to discuss how Utah’s actions serve as a model for other states looking to strike the right balance between discouraging discrimination while protecting religious liberty.”
The Religious Freedom Annual Review is held to educate people about religious freedoms in both national and international spheres. It also involves discussion of impacts caused by civil changes. The event is one of many symposiums organized by BYU Continuing Education Conferences and Workshops. Program Coordinator Alisse Frandsen said the conference will help people get involved in the discussion and know how to protect their rights.
“We want to have this conference so we can help people learn to follow the advice given by Elder Hales last general conference when he urged members of the church to ‘safeguard these sacred freedoms and rights for (them)selves and (their) posterity,'” Frandsen said.
Current events that relate to religious freedom, such as the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, will be addressed “in a way that will help participants protect their own religious freedoms,” Frandsen said.
Other notable speakers include Sen. J. Stuart Adams; William F. Atkin, Associate General Counsel—International for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and Elizabeth A. Clark, associate director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at J. Reuben Clark Law School.
This is the second year that BYU will hold the Religious Freedom Annual Review. Frandsen said this year is different because they are strongly encouraging attendance from the general public.
The symposium will span over three days, July 6–8. General public registration for one day is $39, and full three-day registration is $99. Students may register for $25 for one day or $69 for the whole event. To learn more about the symposium and to register, visit BYU Continuing Education’s website.
