What Harvard’s humanist chaplain shows about atheism in America
Americans are getting more comfortable with new forms of spirituality, but their views of atheists are still complicated. Read the article from Religion News Service.
People in attend a talk at the American Atheists National Convention in 2014. Many Americans remain distrustful of atheists, surveys show. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
At the end of August 2021, Harvard University’s organization of chaplains unanimously elected Greg Epstein as president. Epstein – the atheist, humanist author of “Good Without God” – will be responsible for coordinating the school’s more than 40 chaplains, who represent a broad range of religious backgrounds.
His election captured media attention, prompting articles in several outlets such as NPR, The New Yorker, the Daily Mail and the Jewish Exponent . Some portrayed the idea of an atheist chaplain as one more battle in the culture wars.
But the trends that Epstein’s position reflects are not new. Non-religious Americans, sometimes referred to as “nones,” have grown from 7% of the population in 1970 to more than 25% today. Fully 35% of millennials say they are not affiliated with any particular religion.
They are part of a diverse group that’s changing ideas about what it means to be nonreligious.