International Religious Liberty Award Dinner October 10, 2013
7:00 pm
Washington Court Hotel
525 New Jersey Ave., NW
Washington, D.C.
On October 6, 2011, the Second Annual International Religious Liberty Award Dinner was held at the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, honoring a lifetime of service to the cause of religious freedom by Kevin J. “Seamus” Hasson, founder of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
 The event was co-sponsored by the DC Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and the J. Reuben Clark Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies and was made possible by the Host Committee, Event Sponsors and the Sterling and Eleanor Colton Chair in Law and Religion.
Michael Merrell, Master of Ceremonies and Chair of the International Religious Liberty Award Committee, began the evening by welcoming the distinguished guests. After an invocation by Elder Jack Gerrard of the Seventy, Law Society Chapter President Ginny Isaacson gave opening remarks before announcing the winners of the student writing competition. First place was awarded to Kevin Brady (University of Chicago Law School), with second place awarded to R. Walker Humphrey, II (Charleston School of Law).
Following a special musical number performed by Rebecca Takemoto and Gene Summers entitled “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (accompanied by Ginny Bywater), remarks and tributes were offered by religious, academic and political leaders in honor of Mr. Hasson.
 The presenters included Dean James Rasband of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, who sounded a recurring theme for the evening, namely that that people of faith everywhere have a friend in Mr. Hasson. General Counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Elder Lance Wickman, described Mr. Hasson as not only a good friend, but a man who is passionate in the defense of others’ faith while remaining true to his own core beliefs. Elder Wickman also shared that in Mr. Hasson’s eyes those who are least favored among us are often refined by such experiences and have the stronger faith as a result, a perspective that resonated with the many Latter-Day Saints in the audience.
Becket Fund Senior Counsel Hannah Smith followed by highlighting some of the notable achievements of Mr. Hasson, including successfully defending the use of “Under God” and “So Help Me God” under the legal theory that it was a reflection of the Founding Fathers’ political persuasions rather than a particular religious preference. She concluded with a quote from Seamus that had influenced her greatly, “we are never better than when we are defending each other.”
Following Ms. Smith, Cole Durham, Founder and Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, reflected with great admiration on the lifetime of service offered by the awardee, highlighting both major historic efforts, as well as recent achievements in defense of religious freedom.
After accepting the award, Mr. Hasson reflected on key turning points in his life as well as notable moments in his advocacy of religious liberty. He lamented that many political leaders today choose not to see that freedom of conscience, including religious freedom, is a thread running through the United States Constitution, as well as other founding documents. Hasson continued by commenting that without conscience, social order and decency fall apart, a fact reflected in modern society. He then concluded by thanking the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for being good friends personally and professionally, and for standing tall at a critical time for the defense of religious freedom.
Following Mr. Hasson’s remarks, the benediction was offered by Imam Talib Shareef.
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