Author: konkova

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Join us for our next First Sunday meeting of the Lake Superior Freethinkers!
Sunday, May 4th
Presentation at 10 am.

We are delighted to welcome:

Arielle Lee and Alicia Joel
presenting
“Religious Trauma: A Conversation“

Alicia and Arielle will each share their personal stories growing up in constrictive religious households with emotionally destructive belief systems and will share their journeys coming out of it into healthier ways of thinking, being, and living. They each had a different response to this upbringing: one, the good compliant child taking on multiple layers of shame, and the other, the rebel, who questioned and resisted the belief system as a young child at every turn. 

At the end of their talk, there will be time for questions and personal sharing. Alicia will also touch on the religious trauma support group that she started leading in January. 

Arielle Lee:

Arielle Lee stands strong as a voice against Christian extremism, having educated herself on the practices of Christian nationalist organizations for decades, and surviving a childhood directly impacted by their practices. She was raised under the practices of James Dobson of Focus on the Family, the organization behind the Heritage Foundation and the authors of Project 2025. By the age of 18, Arielle had bounced between homeschool, Christian boarding school, and several denominations of Christian day school in addition to being forced to attend multiple different denominations of Christian churches. When Arielle isn’t fighting Christian nationalism, you can find her working in local theater and as a photographer, focused on community building, or doting on her two delightful corgis as an avid animal lover.

Alicia Joel:

Alicia Joel is a trauma conscious yoga guide, cuddle therapist, body worker, and Sacred Counsel Guide. She facilitates gatherings for people to explore connection to themselves and others and provides safe spaces for marginalized people including those in the queer, trans, neurodivergent, and ethically non-monogamous communities. Her goal is to bring more connection, understanding, and wholeness to the world.

Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church

From the Publisher:

Rigorously reported and deeply personal, The Exvangelicals is the story of the people who make up this generational tipping point, including Sarah herself. Part memoir, part investigative journalism, this is the first definitive book that names and describes the post-evangelical movement: identifying its origins, telling the stories of its members, and examining its vast cultural, social, and political impact.

“An intimate window into the world of American evangelicalism. Fellow exvangelicals will find McCammon’s story both startlingly familiar and immensely clarifying, while those looking in from the outside can find no better introduction to the subculture that has shaped the hopes and fears of millions of Americans.” —Kristin Kobes Du Mez, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne

About the Author:

Sarah McCammon is a National Political Correspondent for NPR and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion policy and the intersections of politics and religion. She’s also a frequent guest host for NPR news programs.

Jay Krajic presented “Journey to Antarctica” at Lake Superior Freethinkers’ First Sunday meeting on February 2, 2025, at 10 a.m

View the Video Here

Jay Krajic, a native of the Chicago suburbs, earned his fine arts in photography degree in Utah. He worked for 20 years as a TV news videographer in Boise Idaho and in 2007 shot video for Idaho Public Television’s Outdoor Idaho. Jay currently lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

Presented January 5, 2025 at Lake Superior Freethinkers

The principle of Laicite in France is implemented through a number of policies, primarily based on the 1905 law. The French government is legally prohibited from recognizing any religion. The law was based on three principles: the neutrality of the state, the freedom of religious exercise, and public powers related to the church.

David Bellert, a board member of LSF, guides our learning and discussion through a number of issues concerning separation of church and state.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW THE EVENT HERE: