Religious Studies conference

This Friday, February 16th, West Suffolk College is hosting a Religious Studies conference on the theme of Freedom of Speech and Conscience. The event is free to attend, but please notify me via my work email (robin.herne@wsc.ac.uk) if you wish to attend.
The speakers include a Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, and Odinist weighing up the issues from their own perspectives. The running order is as follows:


10.00 – Welcome & housekeeping
10.10 – Gurmeet Sually; Words Have Power; Creative & Destructive
10.55 – Comfort break & coffee
11.05 – Reverend Canon Tim Jones; Pauses Fall Pregnant: Language and coercion
11.50 – Janus van Helvert; Dialogue is the Essence of Life
12.30 – Lunch break
1.15 – Robin Herne; Hope, Healing, and Harmful Speech
2.00 – Workshops
·        Discussion led by Gurmeet Sually – does free speech have its limits when it comes to cherished beliefs?
·        Discussion led by Robin Herne – if freedom of conscience is not accompanied by freedom of speech and action, does it become meaningless?
2.45 – Coffee & comfort break
3.00 – Art Slocum; Religious Symbols of Hate: The impact on expressions of Odinism and other faiths
3.45 – Plenary
4.00 – Finish

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