The New Chief Chaplain at Harvard? An Atheist.

[brooklynite]

New York Times

The Puritan colonists who settled in New England in the 1630s had a nagging concern about the churches they were building: How would they ensure that the clergymen would be literate? Their answer was Harvard University, a school that was established to educate the ministry and adopted the motto “Truth for Christ and the Church.” It was named after a pastor, John Harvard, and it would be more than 70 years before the school had a president who was not a clergyman.

Nearly four centuries later, Harvard’s organization of chaplains has elected as its next president an atheist named Greg Epstein, who takes on the job this week.

Mr. Epstein, 44, author of the book “Good Without God,” is a seemingly unusual choice for the role. He will coordinate the activities of more than 40 university chaplains, who lead the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and other religious communities on campus. Yet many Harvard students — some raised in families of faith, others never quite certain how to label their religious identities — attest to the influence that Mr. Epstein has had on their spiritual lives.

“There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life,” said Mr. Epstein, who was raised in a Jewish household and has been Harvard’s humanist chaplain since 2005, teaching students about the progressive movement that centers people’s relationships with one another instead of with God.

Not sure I agree. Would prefer to not have a chaplain at all, (pastoral care doesn't have to be theological) but if you're going to have one, it seems they should have some religious profile.

[qazplm135]

1. The point of a Chaplain here

is similar to how they are used in the military. To facilitate the spiritual needs of its members.

You are a Christian, let me direct you to Chaplain Smith. Jewish? Rabbi Jones can help. And so on.

You don't need to be religious to direct that and run that, and you have the bonus that you can yourself service those who aren't religious but are spiritual or just need help.

I think it's fine. You need a good person in that job who is a good manager...sounds to me like his fellow spiritual leaders thought he was the person for the job.

[brooklynite]

2. You're saying they can't just look up the Neuman Center or Hillel?

or Campus Crusade for Christ?

When students graduate and move away, there won't be someone directing them to the right church for their beliefs and needs.

[qazplm135]

5. You mean a central resource

where they could call or go to or look up online to deal with any spiritual needs?

Sounds like a great idea. Now they just need someone to run it...

[RockRaven]

3. I disagree. It seems to me that an atheist would make a better chaplain than someone who

subscribes to a particular doctrine. They can get out of their own way and help the person with what the person needs which is specific to them without any particular baggage on the chaplain's side.

Besides, while it is certainly not true for ALL atheists, often atheists have studied more different religions than believers, who often have focused their studies on their own religion (or subvariations therein) while being rather ignorant of others.

[slightlv]

4. Getting out of your own way is important

regardless of system of thought. I was going to say "belief" but that might be an issue among non-theists and agnostics. I was in t the DoD for over 25 years, and if this "manager" is half the manager that our chaplain was, Harvard students should be well-served. One of the chaplains we had was Christian in his own theology, but true to his actual mission in the military and DoD, he got out of his own way in order to help people with where -they- were coming from -- including this very out-of-the-closet witch. I have always been a Seeker, and in my seeking, the one thing I've seen is when you boil all religions down to their very core, they are all pretty much say the same thing - do good, love each other, don't cause harm, know yourself. The problem are those in the religion who have alternative issues - much as our own talibangelicals, or the Islamists in the ME.

I can't say enough good about this Christian pastor we had. He helped me through a very difficult time in my life. And he did it keeping all the buzzwords and beliefs inherent in Christianity out of it.

I contrast that with what the cadets at the AF College have had to put up with all these many years, and see how lucky we really were. Unfortunately, when it came time for our pastor to PCS, he was replaced with an evangelical who was everything "our" pastor had tried hard not to be. Needless it say, it was the last time the pastors' department ever saw me.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Einstein was considered an atheist by many, but he was intensely..

spiritual. He called the Judaism of his youth silly myths, but could not endure thinking of the cosmos existing without a plan. And if a plan, then a planner.

Spinoza's pre- pantheism is where he ended up, and he spent a fair amount of time at the Ethical Culture Society in NYC. He scoffed at religious mythology, but admired the spirituality behind it.

He once said that, given a choice, he might have been a Quaker.

I doubt Einstein would had the time or temperment to be chaplain, but he was on to something.

Father Mulcahy was an ideal chaplain, btw- subordinating his beliefs for the benefit of his charges.

FWIW, I have been hearing about mainstream Christian denominations not supplying clergy to the chaplain corps. This has left it open to wingnuts.