Freedom From Religion Foundation

2007 - 30th Annual Convention

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Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. He is the author of numerous books, including Thomas Jefferson: Author of America, Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man": A Biography, Letters to a Young Contrarian, and Why Orwell Matters. He was named, to his own amusement, number five on a list of the "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" by Foreign Policy and Britain's Prospect. For more information about Christopher Hitchens, you can visit www.twelvebooks.com. He will receive an "Emperor Has No Clothes" Award.

Julia Sweeney, an alumna of "Saturday Night Live," is best known for her androgynous character, Pat, and her critically acclaimed one-woman monolog, "God Said, 'Ha!'," which played on Broadway. Miramax released the film version in 1998, produced by Quentin Tarantino, which earned the Golden Space Needle Award for best directing. The comedian and actress consulted on the HBO show, "Sex & the City," and has been a regular and guest on several TV series. Her movies include "It's Pat," "Pulp Fiction," "Clockstoppers," "Whatever It Takes," "Stuart Little" and "Don't Come Knockin'." She graduated in economic studies at the University of Washington. Her one-woman show, "In the Family Way," chronicles the adoption of her daughter from China. Julia's third monolog, "Letting Go of God," was Critics' Choice for the Los Angeles Times, Pick of the Week for the LA Weekly, and Critic's Pick for Backstage West. The film version of "Letting Go of God" is newly debuting.

Ellery Schempp, whose complaint as a high school student led to the landmark Supreme Court decision barring devotional and bible reading from the public schools, is a scientist and a Life Member of the Foundation. He will receive a "Hero of the First Amendment" award. Ellery is the subject of a new book, Ellery's Protest by Stephen D. Solomon (University of Michigan Press). He will receive a "Champion of the First Amendment" Award.

From the left: Ed Schempp, Donna, Roger, Sidney Schempp, Ellery February 1963 at the arguments.

Columnist Katha Pollitt is well known for her sharp and provocative analyses of popular culture and politics. Her "Subject to Debate" column, which The Washington Post called "the best place to go for original thinking on the left," began in January 1994 and appears every other week in The Nation; it is frequently reprinted in newspapers across the country. Pollitt counts Susan Sontag, Gloria Steinem and Naomi Wolf among her many vocal fans and Camille Paglia--who wrote recently that she hopes Pollitt "burns in hell" for her analysis of Katie Roiphe's The Morning After--among her critics. Pollitt has been contributing to The Nation since 1980. Her speech is titled: "Atheism is the new Black."

Matthew LaClair was a 16-year-old junior whose American history teacher has acted more like a preacher than a teacher. Matthew's actions to protest religion in his public school made headlines in the New York Times and across the country for six months, until his complaints were settled this spring. Matthew will be receiving the Thomas Jefferson Student Activist Award.

Columnist Stephanie Salter was born and raised in Indiana, spent more than three decades living on both U.S. coasts and has been a working journalist her entire adult life. She was a researcher at Sports Illustrated magazine, a sports, general news and feature reporter for the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle and an op-ed columnist for both those papers. In October 2004, she returned to Indiana where she is the assistant editor for opinion and commentary at the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. She writes a twice-weekly column and serves on the editorial board. One of her most cherished awards was to be named an honorary member of the Longshore Workers Union of America in San Francisco. She will be receiving a "Friend of the First Amendment" Award.

Dan Barker & Steve Benson Photo by Brent Nicastro

Steve Benson, the grandson of Ezra Taft Benson, the former Mormon "prophet," has been editorial cartoonist at the Arizona Republic for more than 19 years. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1993. His nationally syndicated cartoons appear in 130 newspapers and magazines nationwide. Grandson of Ezra Taft Benson, the late president of the Mormon Church, he was an Eagle Scout and received a B.A. in political science (cum laude) at Brigham Young University, 1979. He and his wife, Mary Ann Christensen, who have 4 children, left the LDS church in a highly publicized break in 1993. Since 1997 he has been a fully sworn reserve police officer with the State of Arizona. He has served as President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, is the author of Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist, and three books for children on freethought and humanism. He has composed more than 50 recorded freethought songs and 200 recorded songs for children. Before "losing faith in faith," he majored in religion at Azusa Pacific College and was an ordained minister specializing in a musical ministry. He has produced three tapes of freethought music, the "Friendly Neighborhood Atheist" CD, and the "Beware of Dogma" CD. He is married to Annie Laurie Gaylor. Their daughter, Sabrina, is 17.