September 26-29, 2024
The Sheraton Denver Downtown
1550 Court Place
Denver CO 80202
FFRF’s Denver convention to feature avalanche of talent
The 47th annual national convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Denver is shaping up to be a Rocky Mountain highlight. During the two-day extravaganza on Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28, our speakers include a bestselling novelist, a rich panoply of expert commentators on religion, politics and Christian nationalism, and a popular actor who is outspoken about his atheism.
Bonnie Garmus will be on hand to accept FFRF’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award. Garmus’ charming and thought-provoking novel, Lessons in Chemistry, has sold in the multimillions. The award-winning global phenomenon, which has been translated into 42 languages and has been on the bestseller list for more than a year, was recently turned into a series on Apple TV starring Brie Larson. The novel, part romantic comedy and part satiric commentary, is about a determined chemist who encounters so much sexism in the 1950s that she turns to hosting a highly scientific TV cooking show. While the book’s feminism has been much-remarked upon, almost every main character in it is a pronounced atheist.
FFRF is also delighted that “unabashed atheist” Ron Reagan, who recorded FFRF’s long-playing TV commercial and last spoke at a conference in 2015, will return to speak about religion and politics. Reagan, a political commentator and broadcaster, is the freethinking son of President Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
Another crowd-pleaser returning to speak about religion and politics will be New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, whose book Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in 2006 was an early warning call. Goldberg, who is also an online contributor to MSNBC, will receive FFRF’s Clarence Darrow Award and statuette.
Also addressing Christian nationalism is Bradley Onishi, who is on the faculty of the University of San Francisco and co-host of the top-ranked religion and politics podcast, “Straight White American Jesus.” He is author of the timely book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — And What Comes Next.
FFRF, which held the first-ever panel of nonreligious state legislators at its conference last year, is assembling for 2024 a panel of secular Colorado state legislators. Confirmed are: Rep. Judy Amabile, a businesswoman and progressive advocate who represents the 49th district, and Rep. Brianna Titone, a geologist who represents the 27th district and is the state’s first openly transgender state legislator.
"The Consequences of Religious Decline in the U.S." will be the topic of University of Tampa sociology Professor Ryan T. Cragun. Cragun, who served as a Mormon missionary before leaving religion, is an expert on the rise of the “Nones” (religiously unaffiliated) and author or co-author of a host of books including Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society, What You Don’t Know About Religion (But Should), How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps and From One Missionary to Another.
Actor Jon Huertas is best known for starring as Miguel Rivas for six seasons on NBC’s popular “This Is Us.” Audiences also know him as Detective Javier Esposito from ABC’s hit dramedy “Castle,” as well as for a stand-out performance as Sgt. Tony “Poke” Espera in HBO’s limited docudrama series, “Generation Kill,” where he offered a streetwise view of the Marine Corps invasion of Iraq. As an Air Force veteran himself, Jon calls that his most meaningful role. He is one of the few Latinx actors who has broken the ceiling in mainstream TV, portraying characters telling diverse but universal stories. He’s an open atheist and will be speaking on “True Freedom: Breaking the Shackles of Religious Indoctrination.” Jon explains: “Blacks and Latinos in the Americas have long been two of the most religious groups. I want to talk about how we can help people of color feel safe about facing their skepticism and allow people like me to feel free enough to be open about being nonbelievers.”
Last, but not least, FFRF Co-President Dan Barker will be speaking about his forthcoming new book, Contraduction: The Hidden Fallacy that Inverts Reality. After 140 debates for FFRF, Dan proposes a new way of looking at assumptions behind “fine-tuning” arguments for the existence of a god.
The convention will feature its usual reports by the co-presidents, the legal staff and legislative/lobbying team, plus a chance to peruse FFRF book and product tables and mingle with other freethinkers. The annual meetings of the state representatives and membership take place on Sunday morning, Sept. 29.
Other speakers will be announced in future issues of Freethought Today.
Turn to the back page to register and find complete information or check online at ffrf.org/convention2024.