Marilyn Brien is a religious naturalist now living in Occupied Memphis, where she participates in interfaith, social justice, and environmental activism. She is a retired science teacher, working mostly with inner city minority students in San Antonio, Texas. She is blessed with good health and at 87 years of age she is still able to find joy in camping, hiking, world travel, nature bathing, and gardening. The current focus of her 40 year genealogical research is in coordination with Coming to the Table Linked Descendants and Wikitree in researching her slaveholding ancestors and those persons they enslaved in repairing and healing the wounds of slavery and racism. She is a founding member of the Religious Naturalist Association and Vice-President, Membership Engagement, Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS).
EXPERIENCES
Show Date
Fri 4 Sep 2026 12:00 PM to 12:50 PM
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| Title Short | Diversity in Humanity and Nature |
| Venue | Convo Table 07 |
| Experience Description | Barriers to Diversity in Humanity Unbound by Nature’s Message
The 14-billion-year evolutionary history of our universe has produced the awesome diversity in nature we celebrate today by the everchanging processes of adaptation, interconnection and interdependence. This workshop will review what science tells us about the queerness of nature, racism as a social construct, and religious intolerance. This workshop will provide the opportunity for participants to network, share stories, resources, and strategies to unbound the barriers to diverse communities where justice is supreme and the dignity of each person is paramount. We will focus upon LGBT, ethnic, and religious groups that struggle for justice, equity, and inclusion.
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Show Date
Fri 4 Sep 2026 1:00 PM to 1:50 PM
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| Title Short | Death Unbound from Tradition |
| Venue | Science Tent |
| Experience Description | Engaging With Death Unbound from Tradition: A Religious Naturalist's Perspective
Our Western tradition portrays our life on earth and an afterlife either in heaven above us or hell below us. A more compelling story is that of the 14-billion-year-old universe with its dynamic history of change and natural cycles. We are each made of star stuff, containing recycled atoms from distant stars. We are connected throughout the universe, past, present, and future. Our evolutionary history through interconnection, interdependence, and diversity has given us our conscious selves. Science tells us the price we pay for this conscious life is death. Poets provide us with imagery of life and death. We will discuss how our concepts of reality impacts our lives, our comfort with mystery, and finding meaning in our lives.
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