Julie WestonWe will be holding an educational seminar discussing these issues. The seminar will be held at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden on August 26, 2023 from 1-5 p.m. Dr. Bradley Onishi is our keynote speaker. Rev. Dr. Katie Hays, Randall Theo, and Dr. Wil Jeudy will be joining Mr. Onishi on the panel. There will be presentations regarding these topics followed by a Q&A session of pre-determined questions. After which, we will have time for a Q&A session from our audience members.
Here is more information about our panel.
Dr. Bradley Onishi
Dr. Bradley Onishi is a faculty member at the University of San Francisco and a Research Associate at the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion. He co-hosts the top-ranked religion and politics podcast Straight White American Jesus. He is the author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism – And What Comes Next. His work has appeared at the New York Times, NBC News, Huffpost, and Religion + Politics. A former Christian nationalist pastor, Dr. Onishi speaks around the country about the dangers of Christian nationalism to democracy and the public square.
Reverand Dr. Katie Hays
Rev. Dr. Katie Hays is a Christian pastor who has served congregations in Alabama, New York, Georgia, and Texas for 30 years. She is the founder-pastor of Galileo Church on the outskirts of Fort Worth. Katie actively labors for justice for LGBTQ+ persons in her school district and the State of Texas. She is an energetic member of Pastors for Texas Children, whose sole focus is insisting that public money remains in public education so that all children in our state have equal access to a quality, non-religious education. She is the author of several books, including For the Bible Tells Me So: The Biblical-Theological Necessity of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Church.
Randall Theo
Randall serves as the President of the DFW chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. He was raised in a strict Catholic family. As a teen, he attended St. Anthony’s Catholic High School Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, with an interest in becoming a Catholic priest. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin University and worked for the Boy Scouts of America for 27 years.
Dr. Wil Jeudy
Wil is an urgent care physician by day and a secular activist the rest of the time. He is the State Director (Texas) for the American Atheists where he helps keep the secular groups in our state healthy and active. He is the chair of the American Atheists’s “Secular Advocacy Team” which tracks and testifies for/against bills during the Texas legislative session. He is in leadership of both Houston Oasis and Houston Atheists. Lastly, he formed Secular Houston which organizes the secular political voice in the greater Houston area, endorsing candidates that align with our values, and teaches constituents how and where to direct their energy to affect change through a secular prism.
