Does freedom foster religion?
- When: 11.11.2026 · 18:30 – 21:30
- Where: Kulturhaus Helferei, Zürich
- Organiser: Schweizer Monat
Wednesday, 11 November 2026, 6.30 pm – 9 pm
Doors open: 6 pm
Kulturhaus Helferei, Kirchgasse 13, 8001 Zurich
While the churches of Europe stand like leafless trees, the religious right is gaining influence in the USA. This raises the question of how religion and freedom actually relate to each other, and whether religion – in this case Christianity – is compatible with freedom.
- Does religion foster or curtail freedom?
- Does freedom foster or curtail religion?
- How does religion influence individual freedom?
- How does (un)freedom influence religion?
- Does religion threaten open discourse, or does it actually help to preserve it?
Dr Gerhard Schwarz, President of the Progress Foundation and former business editor of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and Andreas Kyriacou, former President of the Freethinkers' Association of Switzerland and head of Wissenswerkstatt GmbH, debate whether religion sustains or threatens freedom – from human dignity and Islam to today's substitute religions.
Moderation: Dr Béatrice Acklin Zimmermann (Managing Director of Liberethica) and Lukas Leuzinger (Editor-in-Chief of Schweizer Monat)
The event takes place in cooperation with the think tank Liberethica.