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The 2024 Freedom From Religion 47th Annual National Convention took place on September 26-29 at the Sheraton Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.
Watch this page for updates on convention awardees, videos, and speeches.
See convention photos here.
FFRF’s convention was inspiring, enlightening
by Sara Tetzloff
The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s 47th annual convention in Denver was a weekend filled with passionate speeches, enlightening presentations and an unmistakable sense of community among secular freethinkers. From the welcoming address on Friday, Sept. 27, to Saturday’s closing on Sept. 28, attendees were treated to a series of engaging events, celebrating the mission of FFRF while also addressing some of today’s most pressing issues regarding the separation of church and state. Read more…
2024 Annual Report
SECULAR LEGISLATORS PANEL
Judy Amabile, Mickey Dollens, Brianna Titone
Judy Amabile has served as a state representative in the Colorado General Assembly representing the 49th district, including Boulder, since 2020. She participated in the panel of secular state legislators. Judy has sponsored a slate of progressive and pragmatic bills, including measures to increase mental health resources, improve the criminal justice system, increase gun safety and make communities more resilient in the face of wildfires fueled by the climate crisis. Managing a growing business, caring for up to 65 employees and parenting three boys has informed her work in the General Assembly. She has received a number of awards from Colorado groups, including the 2023 Advocacy Award from Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado. She is chair of the Business Affairs & Labor Committee and serves on a number of committees.
Mickey Dollens, a state representative from Oklahoma, participated in the panel of secular state legislators. Born and raised in Bartlesville, he attended Southern Methodist University on a football scholarship and studied English. While attending a NFL combine, he was recruited by the U.S. Bobsledding Team, and later worked in an Oklahoman oil field. He then taught 9th grade English. After being one of 208 Oklahoma City Public School teachers to be laid off due to budget cuts, he first ran for and won a seat on the legislature in 2016. He is House Minority Whip and has served on multiple committees. Oklahoma Democratic Veterans declared him the 2019 Legislator of the Year. He has been named “Secularist of the Week” three times by the FFRF Action Fund for his state/church advocacy.
Brianna Titone, a geologist with a Master’s in geochemistry, moved from New York State to Colorado, where she earned a second Master’s degree in information communication technology at the University of Denver in 2018. She participated in the panel of secular state legislators. Brianna was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 27th district, in 2017. She serves as chair of the Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus and the Joint Technology Committee and on a variety of volunteer boards. Brianna enjoys trail running and photography, and was the first openly transgender state legislator elected in Colorado and the fourth elected in the U.S.
DAN BARKER
FFRF Co-President Dan Barker, besides doing a little entertaining at the piano, spoke on his brand new book, “Contraduction: The Death of the Design Argument”. After 140 debates for FFRF, Dan proposed a new way of looking at assumptions behind “fine-tuning” arguments for the existence of God. He’s the author of other books, including “God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction“, “Godless“, “Life Driven Purpose“, “The Good Atheist“, “Just Pretend: A Book for Young Freethinkers“, “Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist“, and “Free Will Explained“.
CHARLES M. BLOW
Receiving FFRF’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award was Charles M. Blow. His columns in The New York Times tackle hot-button issues such as social justice, racial equality, LGBTQ issues and national politics. Blow is an MSNBC political analyst and has been the anchor of PRIME with Charles Blow on the Black News Channel and a CNN commentator. Mr. Blow is the author of New York Times bestselling books “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” and “The Devil You Know”. “Fire…” has been developed into an opera, the first by a Black composer to premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. “The Devil…” has been developed into a feature-length documentary that will air later this year on HBO.
Read Charles Blow’s intro here.
KATE COHEN
“Tampon Tim” and the Long Reach of Religion
Kate Cohen, a Washington Post contributing columnist, received FFRF’s “Freethought Heroine” Award in 2023. Her latest book is “We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too)”. Cohen, who lives in Albany, N.Y., grew up in Virginia and has a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Dartmouth College. Her essays — whether print, online, radio or live — seek to distill observations of family, politics and culture into moments of clarity and insight. She also writes nonfiction documentary scripts, including the Emmy Award-winning “Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero” and the Gold Panda award-winning “How China Works”. She is the author of two other books, “A Walk Down the Aisle: Notes on a Modern Wedding” and “The Neppi Modona Diaries: Reading Jewish Survival Through My Italian Family”. She speaks Italian and is fluent in food.
JOSHUA COWEN
How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers
Joshua Cowen is author of the newly released book, “The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers”. He is professor of education policy at Michigan State University, and an author on topics related to education politics, school choice, and culture wars in the United States. His popular writing has appeared in outlets such as The Conversation, the Dallas Morning News, the Detroit Free Press, The Hechinger Report, the Houston Chronicle, The New Republic, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Slate, The Tennessean, the Washington Spectator and more. He lives in mid-Michigan with his family.
RYAN T. CRAGUN
Goodbye Religion – The Causes and Consequences of Secularization
Ryan T. Cragun, a professor of sociology at the University of Tampa, focuses on both Mormonism and nonreligion. Professor Cragun was born and raised in Utah as a Mormon and served as a Mormon missionary. He’s author or co-author of many books, including “Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society.” – “What You Don’t Know About Religion (but should)“, “Christianity and the Limits of Minority Acceptance“, subtitled: “God Loves (Almost) Everyone“, the intriguingly titled book “How to defeat religion in 10 easy steps“, and “From One Missionary to Another“.
FFRF ATTORNEYS & LEGISLATIVE STAFF
Legal Director Patrick Elliott, Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell, Litigation Counsel Sam Grover, Intake Attorney Maddy Ziegler, Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne, State Advocacy Specialist Ryan Dudley, Governmental Affairs Director Mark Dann
BONNIE GARMUS
“Emperor Has No Clothes” Awardee
Bonnie Garmus was 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.
MICHELLE GOLDBERG
The Rise of Christian Nationalism
Michelle Goldberg, an opinion columnist at the New York Times since 2017, who writes about politics and culture, received FFRF’s Clarence Darrow Award. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Nation, the New Republic, Slate and other publications. Her first book, “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism“, 2006, was an early warning call. “The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World“, 2009, is about global battles over gender and reproductive rights, and won the Ernesta Drinker Ballard Book Prize. Her most recent book is “The Goddess Pose“, 2015. She earned an undergrad degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a masters of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. She is an on-air contribution to MSNBC.
JON HUERTAS
Blacks and Latinos – Unshackling Ourselves from Holy Handcuffs
Actor Jon Huertas is best known for starring as Miguel Rivas for six seasons on NBC’s “This Is Us,” also directing multiple episodes. Audiences also know him as Detective Javier Esposito from ABC’s hit dramedy “Castle,” as well as for his stand-out performance of Sgt. Tony “Poke” Espera in HBO’s limited docudrama series, “Generation Kill,” where he offered an unheralded 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 who has participated in events such as the Secular Day of the Dead. Jon’s speech was on “True Freedom: Breaking The Shackles Of Religious Indoctrination.” He notes: “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 non-believers.”
2024 HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY WINNERS
Finn Albert Mosher, Ivy Nichols, Rita Nyamkamiah
Finn Mosher, 18, placed first in the William Schulz Memorial Essay Contest for College-bound High School Seniors, winning $3,500 for his essay “The Good Book or the Textbook.” He is attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla., to earn a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. He received the President’s Volunteer Service Award as a result of my time spent as vice president of the Washington State Future Business Leaders of America Industry Relations. He was involved in environmental activism through his school’s Green Club, serving as treasurer. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, reading sci-fi and watching films in his free time. Read more…
Ivy Nichols, 17, placed sixth in the William Schulz Memorial Essay Contest for College-bound High School Seniors, winning $1,000 for her essay, “One Less Barrier.” She plans to major in Middle Eastern and North African Studies at Colorado State University with the goal of a career at a non-governmental organization or research institution. She has been an active volunteer, including at a children’s library and a charity for children affected by HIV/Aids, has interned at an immigrant and refugee center, and on a Democratic campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rita Nyamkimah, 18, placed first in the David Hudak Memorial Essay Contest for Black, Indigenous Students of Color, winning $3,500, for her essay, “Gods of Their People.” She is pursuing a health sciences degree under the pre-med program at St. Joseph’s University, Philadelpha. Her goal is to be a psychiatrist to provide essential mental health services to underserved communities. She was student representative for her high school school in the Red Clay School District Superintendent Advisory Council and president of the Black Student Union. She is a photographer in her leisure time.
BRADLEY ONISHI
Christian Nationalism’s Threat to Democracy
Dr. Bradley Onishi is faculty at the University of San Francisco and a research associate at the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion. He co-hosts the top-ranked religion and politics podcast “Straight White American Jesus” and is the author of “Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism – And What Comes Next“. His work has appeared at the New York Times, NBC News, Huffpost, Religion + Politics, among others. A former Christian nationalist pastor, Dr. Onishi speaks around the country about the dangers of Christian nationalism to democracy and the public square.
RON REAGAN
The Present Moment
Ron Reagan, the “unabashed atheist, not afraid of burning in hell,” who kindly recorded a recent much censored TV commercial for FFRF, is the liberal son of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. He dropped out of Yale to become a ballet dancer, joining Joffrey Ballet Company. He is an actor and TV and radio personality. He does commentary, including for MSNBC and “Both Sides Now,” and is the author of “My Father at 100.” He serves as an honorary director of FFRF. He has previously received FFRF’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award and addressed the convention in Seattle in 2009 and in Madison, Wisconsin in 2015.
CLAUDETTE ST.PIERRE
Claudette St.Pierre was raised Catholic but eventually as an adult realized she was an atheist. Since that time, she has been active in the secular community and joined many of the national groups. In 2013, she worked with a small group of individuals to form the Denver Metro Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and has served on the chapter’s leadership board since that time. She believes in the importance of expanding the voice of secular Americans and that both science and rational thinking are the bedrock for a better world. Claudette graduated with her Bachelor of Nursing from California State University. She has worked as a pediatric nurse for the past 36 years.
KATHERINE STEWART
“Freethought Heroine” Awardee
This is an edited version of the speech given by Katherine Stewart at FFRF’s national convention in Denver on Sept. 28. She was introduced by FFRF Member and artist Kelly Houle, who created the beautiful Freethought Heroine Award. (This speech was given a month before the 2024 election, so some references may be dated.)
Kelly Houle: It has been my honor to create the Freethought Heroine Award for the Freedom From Religion Foundation — first for Kate Cohen, who received the award last year, and now for Katherine Stewart.
The design of the award was inspired by the Art Nouveau movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s. With whiplash curves and broken frames, Art Nouveau celebrated the power of strong women at the turn of the century and again in the 1960s and ’70s on music posters and album covers during the sexual revolution, times when women were breaking free from cultural norms, using their voices to defend women’s rights.
I illustrated the award with a few symbolic items — pansies and apples.
Pansies are a recognized symbol of freethought. Their name shares a root with the French word “pensée,” meaning “thought” or “remembrance.” The pansy is a larval host plant for the blue pansy butterfly, which I included in honor of Butterfly McQueen, the first recipient of the Freethought Heroine Award in 1989.
Apples are a symbol of the fruit from the tree of knowledge in the bible, but also as a gift for the teacher.
I have learned a lot from previous recipients of the Freethought Heroine Award, and today’s honoree is no exception.
A heroine is a woman who is admired for doing something extremely brave. Today in America, journalism is a courageous act.
In her two previous books “The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children” and “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism,” which was made into a documentary feature produced by Rob and Michele Reiner, Katherine Stewart courageously exposed the dangers that religion poses to democracy, environmentalism, education, women’s health and scientific truth.
Her books are extensively researched and her new book will be no exception. “Money, Lies and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy” is due out in February.
It is my honor to present the FFRF’s Freethought Heroine Award to Katherine Stewart.
Read Freethought Today article here.
BRANDON WOLF
“Henry Zumach Freedom From Religious Fundamentalism” Awardee
Brandon Wolf, a nationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ+ civil rights and gun safety law, currently serves as national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, and accepted on behalf of HRC the 2024 Henry Zumach Freedom From Religious Fundamentalism Award (a minimum of $35,000). A survivor of the 2016 shooting at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, he’s a frequent face on MSNBC and CNN, and an opinion contributor in Oprah Daily, Newsweek, USA Today, and others. Brandon has been named one of Logo TV’s 30 LGBTQ Changemakers and Out Magazine’s 100 Most Influential LGBTQ People.
In 2019, he became the first survivor of the Pulse tragedy to testify before Congress and returned in 2022 to testify on the rise of anti-LGBTQ hate violence before the House Oversight Committee. His debut memoir, A Place for Us, was released in July 2023 and became an instant bestseller.
