I'm Krista Tippett. This hour we explore the ethics of atheism with the humanist chaplain

of Harvard. Greg Epstein is an emerging leader in a movement he calls the new humanism

and his story illuminates an aspect of U.S. culture that may be obscured by the faith

debates. We'll also hear other voices of atheism and humanism from the past and the present.

We are working so passionately, so many of us, I see this in the humanist and atheist

and agnostic community, working just as hard as anyone else to build a world that is

as good as it can be for ourselves, and for our loved ones, and for all of humanity, and

for the sake of the natural world, too, that surrounds us and sustains us.

This is Speaking of Faith. Stay with us.

This public radio podcast is supported by the Fetzer Institute as part of its campaign

for Love and Forgiveness, online at loveandforgive.org. And by the Plymouth Center for Progressive

Christian Faith, hosting a national conference on faith and politics in Minneapolis, April 11

through 13th, speakers include Ray Suarez, Jim Wallace, and Rabbi Michael Lerner, information

at PlymouthCenter.org.

I'm Christopher Tippett. In a recent, much-publicized Pew poll on the American Religious Landscape,

16% of Americans identified themselves as unaffiliated, atheist, agnostic, or most prominently

nothing in particular. My guest this hour described himself that way until he discovered

the tradition of humanism. Today, he's the humanist chaplain of Harvard.

Greg Epstein's story illuminates an aspect of U.S. culture that may be obscured by the

faith debates. He is passionate about articulating an atheist identity that is not driven by a

stance against religion but by positive ethical beliefs and actions. We'll also explore

other voices of atheism and humanism this hour from the past and the present.

...