IARF Vision and Identity Statement

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the United States, it is customary to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. Despite global challenges, there is still much to be grateful for—even as the world stands at a tipping point between hope and fear, light and darkness.

This year has been fraught with war, climate inaction, and growing inequities, yet the principles of religions and spiritualities calling us to beauty, truth, and justice are more necessary than ever. In the darkness, the candles of liberal faith can shine brightly.

The International Association for Religious Freedom is moving in a new direction. All International Council members are now expected to contribute either as workers or by appointing associates to represent their chapters or member groups. So far, this has proven effective in our committees for finance, UN representation, and developing the website for free communication.

Membership has grown, with Sony College in Chhindwara, India, and Pagan Federation International joining us. IARF’s strength lies in its openness to diverse perspectives—religious, spiritual, or secular—and its recognition of every faith’s unique contributions to our collective enrichment. No tradition has a monopoly on truth; through dialogue, we find new ways to serve a struggling world.  (Several more groups are preparing their applications.)

Contributions from regions such as Europe and the U.S. have increased, and individual donations—some surpassing those of member groups—have been especially impactful. 

Personally, I am deeply grateful for the positive reception of the Free Religion Institute. The concept of “free religion” – inspired by figures like Raja Rammohan Roy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Dr. Imaoka Shin’ichirô – explores liberating spiritualities across traditions. Translating this vision across languages remains challenging, as political and historical contexts often distort the meaning of freedom.

Andrew Brown suggests “free-religion” as a way to reconnect with the liberative essence of faith traditions. Today, we face enslavements in new forms. Free-religion invites us to confront these with liberating practices.

We need your support. Volunteer as an editor, librarian, teacher, or researcher, or help with technical tasks for the Institute and the website. If volunteering isn’t possible, please consider donating to sponsor an intern or a program.

Let us honor Guji Yukitaka Yamamoto’s plea: “Do not let IARF die.” Together, we can keep its mission alive.

George Williams
IARF President

President’s New Year Letter

Dear Sisters and Brothers of IARF,

As the Winter Solstice ushers in a change of seasons, may the increasing light bring us hope, rebirth, and renewal. Our traditions universally celebrate the New Year with symbols of the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. Christmas heralds Jesus as the Light of the World, Hanukkah celebrates the Festival of Lights and the miracle of the menorah, the Druidic Alban Arthan witnesses the Oak King triumphing over the Holly King symbolizing light conquering darkness, and Kwanzaa honors African traditions by lighting a Kinara. These messages of hope and renewal are universal, even in the many traditions that mark the New Year at the onset of other seasons like spring or harvest.

Never in our lifetimes has the symbolism of the struggle between darkness and light been more palpable in our lived reality. Never has the message at the heart of the International Association of Religious Freedom been more pertinent. Like the shortened days of winter, we have experienced a period of diminished resources and perhaps a waning belief in our unique organization – the oldest interfaith community, known for its contributions to religious freedom, peace, progressive religion and a liberating spirituality that frees from suffering, oppression, addiction, and more.

Our past successes should fill us with pride, but they also call us to recognize our place and role in the world. We are the world! This realization urges us to acknowledge our utmost importance at a time when the world is facing more challenges than ever. In our 123 years, IARF has adapted to the spiritual needs of each era. Now, we must meet the challenges of this new epoch.

As an interfaith association, we must remember the values of our traditions in cultivating love and peace. We are more than just an organization; we are a conscience of a world that is losing its compassion, kindness, and love of truth.

I sense an expectation from our member groups to rejuvenate ourselves with newfound energy and enthusiasm. We have the moment, the enthusiasm, the energy, and the will to guide IARF through these dark times. We have a mission, and our people expect us to overcome the danger of fading into oblivion.

The challenge is even greater because IARF is far from having an adequate financial basis. However, we can and must become more generous toward our cherished organization. New programs will include a focus on youth, a digital education program titled the Institute for the Study of Free Religion with over 50 courses in liberating spirituality, a speakers bureau, online chats, representation in the United Nations, shared media, printed materials, and more. While limited resources might hold us back, the need for our diverse faith perspectives has never been greater.

May your New Year be blessed, happy, and safe. May you share your light with a neighbor.

George Williams, IARF President

Highlights from the 2023 IARF Congress

Introducing our New Community Platform on IARF.net!

We are thrilled to announce the addition of a community platform to our official website, IARF.net. This platform is designed to foster stronger connections, promote grassroots activities, and provide our volunteers with efficient teamwork tools.

Registration

Every member of a Member Group or a Chapter, an individual member, or a registered Congress participant is encouraged to register here. You can easily sign up using your email or Google account. Please allow a few hours for our admin to approve your account. Until it is approved, you will only be able to edit your profile inforfmation.

Profile Setup

To maintain a community based on transparency and trust, we kindly request members to upload a photo of themselves and write a short bio entry. This not only verifies your membership but also helps other members to know you better!

Purpose of the Community Platform

Our goal with this platform is multi-fold. We aim to:

• Make it easier for individual members to connect with other members worldwide
• Encourage members to write content for the website
• Boost grassroots activities
• Enhance the online event experience for events like the upcoming Congress in Cluj Faith in Reconciliation, the recent European Regional Conference Does Religion Make You Free, inter-member events like the conference held together by the Japan Chapter, RFYN and the India Chapter earlier this year, the IARF Dialogues series, and more.
• Make collaboration for our volunteers easier by giving them access to teamwork tools
• Stimulate collaboration within the organisation

What can you do on our Community Platform?

Once registered, you can:

• View and message other members here
• Submit content for the website (all content will be reviewed by a moderator, unless you are an editor)
• Join social and work groups here
• Share your thoughts, pictures, videos, and other files
• Announce events and meetings and participate in events held by other groups, and browse an event calendar

…and much more!

Ongoing Development

Please note that our community platform is still in the developmental phase. Our Administrator Luke is diligently working on it to improve and perfect the user experience. As we’re still in the testing phase, the user base may not be extensive yet – but we are hoping for this to change very soon!

Luke would greatly appreciate any feedback and would be happy to answer all questions or provide individual support in registering and using the platform. Please contact him through a message on IARF.net, send an email to [email protected], or contact him on WhatsApp at +31641744951.

We believe that this community platform will revolutionize the way we interact, communicate, and collaborate. So, sign up today, and let’s build a stronger and more connected IARF together!

President Ince’s New Year’s Message

On behalf of the International Council of the IARF, I send our best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all our member organisations, chapter members, supporters, and followers throughout the world.

We wish to pay tribute to all those who have worked tirelessly for the IARF in 2022, a year that was very difficult for many and in which we lost a number of good friends. We look forward to 2023 with renewed hope that our work will bring comfort and relief to those in need.

We are particularly looking forward to the Congress this year, which will be held in Cluj Napoca, Transylvania, Romania on September 4-6, and we are grateful to the Hungarian Unitarian Church for hosting this event. There will also be a pre-congress tour around Romania on the three preceding days for those who wish to see more of this beautiful country.

If you do not feel able to travel to the Congress, please do not worry because many of the events will be broadcast via Zoom and you will be able to participate from any time zone. We hope that more people than ever before will be able to join in the activities, discussions, and celebrations.

Please put this date in your diary!

Wishing you and your families the very best of health.

Please stay safe.

Robert Ince

New Year’s Message from President Ince

On behalf on the IARF, may I wish you all a very Happy and Safe New Year.
2021 will no doubt go down in history as the year that brought the world to its knees with the Covid virus in its many strains. In 2020, we thought we had seen the worst of it, and yet, at the end of this year, we see yet another, more virulent strain infecting people in even larger numbers.

With people forced to stay home, to protect themselves and each other, many faith groups have been severely challenged and sometimes their very existence threatened at a time when spiritual health is at its lowest and the sense of community and the work they do is needed now more than ever.

During this year, however, the IARF has moved forward as we have learnt to deal with our new normality in increasingly inventive ways. The EME held a virtual conference in May that was attended by people all over the world – something that would not have happened before Covid.
Our continuing series of Motivational dialogues hopefully informs and inspires both members and others to promote the cause of religious freedom.

We now publish more newsletters than ever before to explain our work and tell the stories of both success and concern. We do, of course, need to do more of this to get our message out to the world.
I am pleased to say that for the first time in a long time established a presence at the United Nations in Geneva, undoubtedly helped by the increasing number of online meetings. I am very grateful to Rev Dr Esther Suter for the effort that she has put in as our representative at the UN.

This last year the International Council agreed a new membership policy that has enabled us to move forward attracting new members to the IARF and we are currently in discussion with a number of liberal faith groups and other organisations who look to join with us

All these things promise a better year to come and I am grateful to all those who have given their time and energy in support of the cause of Religious Freedom.

May you all keep safe and well in this coming year and we look forward to a strengthened IARF in 2022.

Best wishes

Robert Ince
President

The President’s New Year Message

At a time when much of the world is in the darkness of Covid-19, its peoples call out for the faith and hope that religions can offer.  It is easy to be disheartened by what we see before us and yet, with many celebrating the light feasts of their tradition in this period of the year, those who believe can feel consoled by a higher power. We look forward to 2021 as a reawakening of the spirit of life. 

Those of us who are committed to the freedom of people everywhere to practice their faith without fear or threat can look forward with renewed enthusiasm to be the voice of the IARF. Last year, despite all the trials and tribulations, we made important improvements to who we are and how we work. Already, we are telling new stories of good and bad – to let the world know what is possible and what should not be happening. 

I wish you all a very Happy New Year. Let us work together to build a bright new future for the IARF and those we serve.

Robert Ince, IARF President

IARF President’s New Year message for 2017

Dear Friends in IARF,

Peace among religions and freedom of conscience for all, that is our common goal in IARF.

Last year, my message was about the scope of our work to promote freedom for each individual to practice, teach, and be educated in the religion of his or her choice.

Moving on to a different aspect of our work, I would now like you to pay attention to our shared aim: to practice what we preach. Only if all faiths are respected equally, can there be peace among religions. Only if we strive to understand, can we hope to respect. That is why IARF throughout its history has promoted interfaith interaction on the highest level.

Throughout 2016 IARF members have been active in interfaith settings. In all kinds of places, from simple board rooms to spacious conference centers, even in the open air, we have organized and taken part in interfaith encounters. Multiculturalism, with IARF, is standard, as is gender equality.

We must now look to the future. Building on the success of its 2016 Macedonia conference, IARF Europe and Middle East has announced a similar event in Poland. Preparations for the 2018 World Congress have started. It will focus on activism and building the skills of interfaith activists throughout the world needed to do their work in their local communities.

As everyone who has been active in IARF knows, learning about each other in an open, free setting is fascinating and enriching, and simply great fun, too. Maybe it is that, more than anything, which makes IARF endearing to so many people. Let this be our aspiration for the coming year: to ‘brand’ all our events and all our undertakings with the hallmark of IARF: to form warm relationships across cultural divides, no matter what befalls us.

Wytske Dijkstra
IARF President

President’s New Year Message 2016

Dear friends in IARF,

Acts of religiously motivated crimes have been dominating the news during 2015. The fanaticism with which oppression and war are being pursued is viewed by many to stem from religious zeal. Now, more than ever, there is a need for IARF to speak out on peaceful coexistence for religions. IARF does not stop there. It seeks to practise what others preach.

This means IARF is inclusive, promoting equality among people, whatever faith, gender, or position in life they take. In the past year, as ever, IARF has shown this through the diversity of the membership of its governing bodies. It has practised it in international and other interfaith encounters, and promoted it through human rights awareness trainings and HR education.

IARF is looking forward to continuing this policy in 2016, expanding the scope of its HR advocacy through diplomacy, education, and interfaith encounters.

I would like to thank all IARF members who have been active on behalf of our core values: religious harmony, diversity, and equality, within IARF or in society. Sometimes all it needs is speaking out. Together, we have a voice. It is up to you to make it sound out loud throughout the world.

I wish you all a happy New Year.

Wytske Dijkstra, IARF President.

New Office Administrator

Robert Papini, who has been the Office Administrator since 2003, has retired from the association as of this week. His duties were taken over by Łukasz Liniewicz, a resident of the Netherlands. Łukasz was appointed following a thorough recruitment procedure. Though we are sorry to see Robert go, and grateful for his contribution and support to our organization, we have great expectations and hopes concerning Łukasz’s work in IARF.

Below you will find a short bio note written by Łukasz and his contact details.

Łukasz Liniewicz

e-mail: luke[at]iarf.net, Skype: iarf_skype, Facebook: www.facebook.com/l.liniewicz

I am 25 years old, was born in Poland and currently live in the Netherlands, where I studied international (European) law at the University of Groningen and Christianity and Society in Tilburg. Besides my work as IARF’s Office Administrator I work as a freelance translator. I am a member of the Mennonite Church, which in the Netherlands is a liberal, progressive faith community. In the past I’ve worked in an administrative and coordinating capacity in church offices and faith organizations, and hope to use what I have learned to contribute to IARF, whose goals I wholeheartedly support, as well as to continue learning to live up to what is expected of me. Please don’t hesitate to contact me whenever I can be of assistance.