Upcoming Events
Join our virtual and in-person events this year!
Join The Dialogue Institute in 2026 for a series of thought-provoking events exploring the role of religion in American life, past and present, as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
Each event will engage scholars, community leaders, and the public in meaningful conversations about how religious ideas, values, and communities have shaped and continue to shape American identity, pluralism, and civic life.
Stay tuned for dates, locations, and speaker announcements. Together, let’s reflect on the past and envision the future.
Religion and Freedom in Historic Germantown
This two-hour walking tour will follow Germantown Avenue along the northern edge of the Germantown Colonial Historic District to highlight the various religious and intellectual groups who were free to practice in early eighteenth-century Germantown, including Quakers, Mennonites, Moravians, Reformed Lutherans, and natural scientists. This tour will also focus on Germantown, where many early battles for American freedom were fought. Not only did this happen at the Battle of Germantown, but also a decade prior, when Benjamin Franklin's militia confronted vigilantes in Germantown to protect the religious freedom and lives of Lenape Moravian converts. Germantown was a site of early abolitionism and an early version of the Underground Railroad, as well as a hub for early American free thinkers and scientists who observed and cataloged the natural order. The tour will be led by Kime Lawson, professor at Thomas Jefferson University. Cost is $20 per person. Attendance limited to 20 people.
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
Join us for a lecture and conversation with Dr. John Fea, who will discuss his book, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
Location: Christ Church, 20 N. American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
Eventbrite registration forthcoming! To add your name to the list, email: info@dialogueinstitute.org
Religious Freedom Trails Kickoff Event
Why does Religion Matter for America 250? Philadelphia is widely recognized as the birthplace of American democracy, but it is also the birthplace of American religious freedom. Join us on Zoom as we discuss the importance of religion in the conversation about America250.
TOUR: Religion, History, and the Nation's Founding in Philadelphia
Description: Why is the history of religion in Philadelphia important to understanding the nation’s 250th anniversary? Join the Dialogue Institute at Temple University for a two-hour walking tour highlighting the religious diversity of early Philadelphia and its impact on the nation’s founding commitments to religious freedom. The tour will touch on the histories of Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Freethinkers, Muslims, Deists, and others who were present during the founding era. It also explores historic episodes of conflict and cooperation, and considers the varied and uneven experiences of religious freedom among the city's minority groups. This tour is primarily for attendees of the Organization of American Historians conference, but is open to all. Space is limited!
Meeting place: The tour will commence at approximately 1:40 pm from the Gouverneur Morris Historical Marker, on Market Street, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. Look out for the person with the Religious Freedom Trails sign. The tour will commence after the site marker dedication event concludes.
Guide: The tour will be led by David Krueger, Ph.D., lead scholar of the Religious Freedom Trails project.
Cost: $40 per person. Registration is limited to 25 people. Email inquiries can be sent to: tours@dialogueinstitute.org