Illinois Interfaith Conference 2026
Politics of Love: Interfaith Organizing for Democracy
Saturday, February 28, 2026
With
Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and Dr. Rami Nashashibi
The Illinois Interfaith Conference is a FREE opportunity for University of Illinois students and campus allies – as well as student leaders and professionals from across the Midwest – to join together to engage in critical questions about interfaith engagement on the college campus. All people of religious and non-religious philosophical traditions are welcome!
Interfaith collaboration brings together communities across religious, spiritual and secular identities to work for the common good. How can interfaith collaboration be sustained in the face of religious extremism? What are the opportunities for mobilizing religious, spiritual and secular communities through interfaith organizing to promote democracy and love?
Please join us for this year’s Illinois Interfaith Conference on February 28, 2026 with keynote speakers Dr. Rami Nashashibi, co-founder and executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, and Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, founder and executive director of Live Free Illinois. Keynote speakers from Chicago’s Faith Over Fear network will discuss their multi-faith, spiritually rooted organizing that centers dignity, healing, and justice.
View the Conference Schedule
Check in begins at 9:30 a.m. Conference begins at 10 a.m. . All sessions will be at the University YMCA (1001 S. Wright St., Champaign).
Find out moreAbout the Keynote Speakers
Dr. Nashashibi and Rev. Bates-Chamberlain will offer a workshop designed to prepare participants for interfaith organizing for democracy. A panel session featuring local religious leaders and student leaders will focus on how they work to build stronger, more resilient communities through interfaith collaboration. Participants will have an opportunity to participate in a poster-making project with support from local artists. Lunch will be provided.
Dr. Rami Nashashibi is founder and executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) in Chicago. He was named a MacArthur fellow in 2017 and an Opus Prize laureate in 2018.
Reverend Ciera Bates-Chamberlain is the founder and executive director of Live Free Chicago – Live Free Illinois, an organization that mobilizes Black churches to improve public safety and transform the criminal justice system. She is a born and raised South Sider dedicated to advancing safety and economic opportunity by building the power and leadership of faith communities and clergy. In her work, she has convened statewide coalitions of clergy and nonprofits dedicated to peace and justice, developed violence reduction strategies, and designed innovative programs related to gun violence reduction and incarceration. Rev. Bates-Chamberlain will also be speaking at the Friday Forum / Conversation Café lunchtime talk on Friday, February 27 at noon at the University YMCA.
Dr. Nashashibi and Rev. Bates-Chamberlain helped to found the Faith Over Fear Coalition, a multi-faith, grassroots table of leaders and organizations across Chicago committed to spiritually rooted organizing that centers dignity, healing, and justice.
Conference Co-Sponsors
The Illinois Interfaith Conference is co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights & Community, Diversity & Social Justice Education, Interfaith in Action, the Department of Religion, Interfaith Alliance of Champaign County, Religious Workers Association, and the University YMCA.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights & Community, the Chancellor, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, or The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.