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International Association for Religious Freedom

Serving liberal religious communities and individuals since 1900

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A Celebration of Life for the Rev. Dr. Richard Boeke

Rev. Dr. Richard Boeke

We would like to share the details for the upcoming Celebration of Life service for the Rev. Dr. Richard Boeke, honoring his profound legacy within our community and beyond.

The service will take place this Saturday, 19 July at 2:00 PM US Eastern, in the Memorial Chapel at Goodwin House Alexandria (4800 Fillmore Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22311), where Richard lived. A reception will follow in the Social Hall.

For those unable to attend in person, the service will be available on Zoom:

Zoom Link: Click here to join
Meeting ID: 845 3741 9976
Passcode: 938878

You can read and share memories in his online obituary. IARF President Prof. George Williams has also shared an in memoriam on our website.

We hope you will join those who treasured Richard from all over the globe, in person or online, to remember and celebrate his life and legacy.

European Conference Update

12-14 September 2025 | Frankfurt, Germany | Theme: "Limits of Religious Freedom and Tolerance"

Programme Updated & Key Deadline

The conference programme has been updated with more details on speakers and sessions. We invite you to view the latest information on the conference web page.

Please note: The registration deadline for in-person participation in both the tour and the conference is 1 September.

A key highlight of the conference will be the keynote address by Seyran Ateş, a prominent author, women's rights activist, and founder of the liberal Ibn-Rushd-Goethe Mosque. Her talk will explore the critical theme of the limits of tolerance in liberal religion.

Join us for this hybrid conference to engage with these vital topics and to network with colleagues from around the world.

View Updated Programme & Register

Updates from the Free Religion Institute

Important Notice: Website Updates

We are performing a major update of the IARF website this summer. While we work, the site may occasionally enter maintenance mode. To ensure uninterrupted access to course materials, Prof. Williams has created a temporary website for the Institute at free-religioninstitute.org. The main IARF Events Calendar will be kept up to date.

Upcoming Live Sessions

Prof. Williams' Weekly Class (Every Tuesday)

Zoom Link: Join here

Session for Americas/Europe:

11:00 San Francisco (PDT) • 14:00 Boston (EDT) • 19:00 London (BST) • 20:00 Amsterdam (CEST) • 21:00 Bucharest (EEST)

Session for Asia/Pacific:

19:00 Honolulu (HST) • 10:30 (+1) New Delhi (IST) • 14:00 (+1) Tokyo (JST)

TUESDAY, 22 JULY 2025 • TWO SESSIONS (8am and 7pm HST)

Summer Class: Vivekānanda's Gift of the Four Spiritual Paths

Because Svāmī Vivekānanda popularized the 4 spiritual practices (yogas) and paths (margas) in the West, we must thank him. Yet, IARF also must thank Raja Rammohan Roy, Shin’ichirō Imaoka, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. This class will honor their contributions.

THURSDAY, 24 JULY 2025 • TWO SESSIONS

Buddhism and Free Religon: Dependent Co-Arising and Free Religion

Join Rev. Maruta for the 5th session in his course on Buddhism and free religion.

Session 1 (Americas):

Corresponds to Wednesday: 18:00 San Francisco (PDT) • 21:00 Boston (EDT)

Session 2 (Europe/Asia):

Corresponds to Thursday: 11:00 London (BST) • 12:00 Amsterdam (CEST) • 13:00 Bucharest (EEST) • 15:30 New Delhi (IST)

Zoom: Join here • ID: 8099882717 • Passcode: 195052