Chris Stedman | |
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| Born | April 9, 1987 Robbinsdale, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Education | Augsburg University (BA) University of Chicago (MA) |
Christopher Stedman (born April 9, 1987) is an American writer who teaches in the department of religion and philosophy at Augsburg University. [1] He was previously the founding executive director of the Yale Humanist Community at Yale University and a humanist chaplain at Harvard University. [2]
Stedman was born in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. He was raised in a secular household, but converted to Evangelical Christianity at the age of eleven, because he was attracted by its stability during his parents' divorce.[ citation needed ]
Stedman struggled for years to reconcile his gay sexual orientation with his Christian faith and declared himself an atheist in college. [3] Stedman studied Religion at Augsburg University, Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago, obtaining baccalaureate and master's degrees prior to joining Harvard at the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard. [4] Following his time at Harvard, he founded the Yale Humanist Community. [5]
Stedman currently teaches at Augsburg University. [6]
He is the author of IRL and Faitheist, and host of the narrative podcast Unread, named one of the best podcasts of 2021 by the Guardian, [7] Vulture, [8] HuffPost, [9] Bello Collective, [10] Mashable, [11] and the CBC. [12] Stedman's writing advocates outreach to seek "common moral ground between theists and atheists," and proposes achieving that aim by expanding interfaith dialogue to include atheists. [13]
Stedman is a past awardee of the 2011 Billings Prize for Most Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. [14]
In 2018, Augsburg University selected Stedman for the Decade Award, which recognizes alumni "who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community" in their first decade after graduating. [15]
Stedman's advocacy for inclusive interfaith dialogue and tolerance has found support from other atheists and interfaith advocates in the Millennial generation, [16] as well as pluralistic rationalist communities. [17]
Stedman has received some criticism for his open embrace of religion from the broader atheist community. [18] [19]
The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism.
Sheldon Lee Glashow is a Nobel Prize-winning American theoretical physicist. He is the Metcalf Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Boston University and Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics, emeritus, at Harvard University, and is a member of the board of sponsors for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion, in that dialogue often involves promoting understanding between different religions or beliefs to increase acceptance of others, rather than to synthesize new beliefs.
Maryam Namazie is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. She is the Spokesperson for Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation, One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She is known for speaking out against Islam and Islamism and defending the right to apostasy and blasphemy.
Greg M. Epstein is the president of the Harvard Chaplains Organization and Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an ordained Humanist Rabbi, and has been influential in American humanism as a blogger, spokesperson, adviser and author of the New York Times bestsellerGood Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. Epstein was an expert on the first three seasons of the reality show "Married at First Sight."
Paul Zachary Myers is an American biologist who founded and writes the Pharyngula science blog. He is associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) where he works in the field of developmental biology. He is a critic of intelligent design and the creationist movement and other pseudoscientific concepts.
Molly Lewis is an American musician who is known for her ukulele playing and who rose to prominence on the Internet. She plays both covers and original songs. Her original music consists of comedic songs that deal with relevant pop culture topics. She is currently signed with DFTBA Records through which she released her first EP I Made You A CD... But I Eated It.
United States military chaplains hold positions in the armed forces of the United States and are charged with conducting religious services and providing counseling for their adherents. As of 2011, there are about 2,900 chaplains in the Army, among the active duty, reserve, and National Guard components.
The Atheist Experience is an American live, weekly televised webcast based in Austin, Texas. Listeners are encouraged to call in to discuss the existence of God and related topics. Calls from theists are usually given priority, as the aim of the webcast is to encourage theists to question their theistic beliefs and thus, theists are often asked to explain what they believe, and why.
The Circle of Reason (TCOR) is a Twin Cities, Minnesota-based international society of theists, atheists, conservatives, and liberals who espouse the social philosophy of pluralistic rationalism.
Dale McGowan is an American author, educator, podcaster, and philanthropist who has written and edited several books related to nonreligious life, particularly parenting without religion.
John Figdor is a former Humanist Chaplain at Stanford University where he organizes events and programs for both students and community members of the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the first Humanist Chaplain on the West Coast serving a university community. As a Humanist officiant he also oversees non-theistic weddings, funerals, and baby-naming ceremonies.
Vanessa Zoltan is a humanist chaplain who describes herself as an "atheist chaplain". She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, and holds a BA in English and writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and a MS in nonprofit management from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been called one of "few" feminist humanist chaplains in the world.
GO Humanity (Giving and Organizing for Humanity) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 in Georgia by Dale McGowan, originally under the name Foundation Beyond Belief.
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