2020 Conference | Schedule | 2024 AHA Annual Conference

Updated as of July 29, 2020

Saturday, August 8

*All times are Eastern Time

TIME	EVENT	SPEAKERS

11:00am	Welcome	Sunil Panikkath, Board President, AHA Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director, AHA

11:30am – 12:00pm	A Conversation about Separation of Church and State	Rachel Laser, Americans United for Separation of Church & State Monica Miller, Legal Director & Senior Counsel, AHA
	Two leading experts on the separation of church and state look at the climate following this term’s Supreme Court decisions. What is the current status of the separation of church and state and how can supporters protect the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause?

12:00pm – 12:30pm	Diversity or Inclusion? Growing Our Secular Community	Debbie Goddard, American Atheists
	An examination of the ways that humanist and atheist groups can foster diversity and inclusion. How do we go beyond tokenism and superficial diversity to build inclusive communities that better reflect our values? We’ll consider several internal factors, including leadership and group dynamics, as well as outward-facing actions including the events and activities groups choose to engage in.

1:00pm – 1:30pm	Heart of Humanism Awards	Foundation Beyond Belief
	The Foundation Beyond Belief will present their awards celebrating humanist volunteerism.

1:30pm – 2:00pm	Beyond Colonial Humanism	David Breeden, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis Jé Hooper, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis
	The session will look at the European roots of what is traditionally considered humanism in the United States and explore how humanism may both embrace the universalist impulse of the European roots of the movement and move beyond those roots to embrace a multiplicity of cultures.

2:00pm – 2:30pm	Is Atheism Still a Political Taboo?	Hemant Mehta, Friendly Atheist
	There are far more open atheists in public office than many people think. How did they get elected? Why does their atheism matter? What can we learn from them in order to be more successful in the future?

2:30pm – 3:00pm	Increasing Our Political Clout	Ron Millar, Center for Freethought Equality Rachel Deitch, Director of Policy & Social Justice, AHA
	Although the number of people identifying as humanist and atheist in the United States is growing dramatically, we are still underrepresented in the political arena. In this conversation you’ll learn about how the AHA’s affiliate, the Center for Freethought Equality, is working to change that. You’ll also hear about some of the Center’s work on Capitol Hill.

3:00pm – 3:30pm	BREAK

3:30pm – 4:00pm	Agreement and Disagreement in Science: Both Matter to Humanism	Anjan Chakravartty, University of Miami
	What is the nature of scientific consensus and disagreement? Contrary to common conception, real scientists don’t agree about everything. Once we understand this, we see that disagreement is compatible with consensus in using our best science to act for the public good.

4:00pm – 4:30pm	Necessary Discomfort of Progress	Krista Cox, Feminist Humanist Alliance
	This presentation will help humanists learn about why activism can be so uncomfortable-especially when it hits close to home-and what to do about it. When it comes to confronting our internal biases, which is an important part of living humanist value, this discomfort can become a big problem. Recognizing one’s role in systems of oppression is necessarily uncomfortable, but it’s necessary to lead to taking in new information and to transformation.

4:30pm – 5:00pm	The Ten Commitments: A Conversation	Kristin Wintermute, Director of the Center for Education, AHA Jennifer Bardi, Deputy Director and Editor in Chief, AHA
	A conversation about the Ten Commitments, developed by the AHA’s Center for Education and recently released in an updated version. The Ten Commitments represent our shared humanistic values and principles that promote a democratic world in which every individual’s worth and dignity is respected, nurtured and supported, and where human freedom and ethical responsibility are natural aspirations for everyone.

5:00pm – 5:30pm	Humanist of the Year Award: Jared Huffman	Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-2) Founder and Co-Chair, Congressional Freethought Caucus Roy Speckhardt, AHA

5:30pm – 6:00pm	Closing	Roy Speckhardt, AHA