Attacks on liberty seem to be the new normal, especially direct assault on freedom of speech and religious liberty. The news is filled with stories about Europeans and Americans being accused of “hate speech,” universities creating absurd speech codes, and faithful Christians being told to violate their beliefs or face jail time or fines.

The spiked Project “free speech NOW” will tackle these issues next month in our nation’s capital during the event, “The First Amendment in the 21st Century: Reinvigorating old rights for new times:”

spiked is not prepared to take the assault on our freedoms lying down. So, on Thursday October 15, in Washington, DC, we are holding a special, half-day conference on liberty, consisting of three lively and provocative discussions. In partnership with the Alliance Defending Freedom and supported by the Acton Institute, each session will explore the troubles afflicting core First Amendment freedoms – speech, press and religion.

Topics that will be addressed include: “Is the First Amendment enough? The crisis of freedom on campuses and beyond,” “Press freedom after Charlie Hebdo: Should there be any limits to offensiveness,” and “Freedom of religion: The forgotten liberty?”

Acton’s President and Co-founder, Robert Sirico, will be speaking on the topic of religious liberty: “From European pastors being arrested for preaching fire and brimstone in their own pulpits to US campaigners calling for restrictions on freedom of conscience, religious freedom is under threat. But should the religious really be free to discriminate? This session will explore the new attacks on freedom of faith.”

For a full list of speakers and more information about the various topics, visit the event page.

The event is free and open to all, but does require tickets. It will be held a the Newseum Institute from 1PM to 4:30 with a reception following.