Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me


This post from Dr. Alaa Murabit is a transcript of her presentation delivered 17 June 2020, which opened the 2020 BYU Religious Freedom Annual Review. Dr. Murabit, a medical doctor from Canada, is UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth

I am so honored to be speaking with you all today. And I wish I could have been there in person. Obviously, circumstances mean that we’re going to have this conversation virtually, but that doesn’t mean it has to be any less impactful. Now, for those of you who don’t know me very well, I’m Alaa Murabit, I’m a UN High Level Commissioner. I’m an SDG advocate. I’m a very new mom, which means I’m getting a lot less sleep than I would like. But, above and beyond everything else, I am a person of faith. I fundamentally view the world with a lens that accounts for mercy and love and compassion, and I view power in that lens as well. And so, when I was asked to come and speak about what religious freedom means, to me, I thought it was incredibly important for me to preface this with some context from my own life and my own upbringing, but also what I think we could potentially be doing better to ensure that religious freedom is, you know, is held for everyone. It’s not just for the select around the world. (more…)

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And When He Came to Himself


This post is an address by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints delivered on 17 June 2020 at the 2020 Religious Freedom Annual Review.

I am grateful to participate with you in the Religious Freedom Annual Review at the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University.  This is a most opportune time to consider together the importance of religious freedom.  And I appreciate the invitation to share a few of my thoughts with you.

The Prodigal Son

In the fifteenth chapter of Luke in the New Testament, we learn about a young man who obtained his inheritance from his father and then traveled to a far country (See Luke 15:11-32.) This young man “wasted his substance with riotous living.” (Luke 15:13) When he had squandered all of his resources, a mighty famine arose in that land, and “he began to be in want.” (Luke 15:14) (more…)

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Religious Freedom Annual Review 2020: Discussion with Sentors Sinema and Lee

Religious Freedom Annual Revew 2020, Religion and Religious Freedom in the COVID-19 Era: Finding Community and Hope. Second Session, 18 June, Question and Answer Session with Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), with ICLRS Director Brett Scharffs Moderating (edited transcript)

 

 

 

 

Brett Scharffs:  I’d like to begin on a personal note. Can each of you tell us a little bit about how you’ve been personally affected by the Coronavirus crisis? Senator Lee, I know you spent some time in quarantine. What has this been like for you? (more…)

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