Religious Freedom: Whose Freedom Is It?

Entrenched in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, freedom of religion is a fundamental freedom that has deep historical roots in our Anglo-American constitutional tradition. Yet, to view such a freedom as a legalistic or ideological relic is to divorce it from the human beings who exercise it. Where does our understanding of religious freedom come from? Is it purely a freedom to be exercised privately, or is its proper forum the public square? Is it a freedom merely for the dwindling minority of Canadians who are actively religious? The Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett, Director of the Religious Freedom programme at Cardus and Canada’s first Ambassador for Religious Freedom will explore these questions and the nature of what is an increasingly contested freedom.

This lecture is a live, in-person event in Cameron Hall. You do not need to pre-register to attend — just show up.

BIOGRAPHY:

The Rev. Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett is the Director of Cardus Religious Freedom and Director of Faith Community Engagement at Cardus, Canada’s faith-based think-tank. He also serves as Senior Fellow at the Washington, DC-based Religious Freedom Institute. He is an ordained deacon in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada. Fr. Deacon Andrew served as Canada’s first Ambassador for Religious Freedom and Head of the Office of Religious Freedom from 2013 to 2016. A native of Toronto who grew up at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish, he holds a Ph.D. in Politics (2002) from the University of Edinburgh as well as degrees in history from McGill and Dalhousie. When not praying, studying, or think-tanking, Fr. Deacon Andrew can be found with his fly rod in a stream, listening to bluegrass or Bach, or reading the Church Fathers.