No Faith Required Part 2: Chris Stedman

This is part 2 of our interview with Chris Stedman, assistant humanist chaplain at Harvard University and author of Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious.

Also on the show, Katy Scrogin reviews The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, by Andre Comte-Sponville.

Not every atheist is hostile to belief. As a former evangelical, Chris Stedman has found his peace with his past, though he no longer has a religion. For the past several years, Stedman has worked as a proponent of interreligious dialogue that includes the voice of "no faith" as part of the conversation.

Stedman worked with Interfaith Youth Corps, and is now assistant humanist chaplain at Harvard University.

As an atheist, Stedman is often suspect among the religious. As a person who takes religious faith seriously, he is also often suspect among fellow atheists. As he relates in our interview, much of Stedman's life has been spent in these sorts of "in-between" spaces, and he knows the value that comes from such suspicions. It's not always comfortable, but it is necessary.

Stedman was a founder of Non-Prophet Status, a blog devoted to atheist interreligious dialogue. He is now a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, as well as other blogs.
Stedman is also the author of Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious.

Also on the program, Katy Scrogin reviews The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by Andre Comte-Sponville.

From the book description:
"The perfect antidote to the fiery rhetoric that dominates our current national debate over religion, The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality is the ideal companion to such bestsellers as The God Delusion and God Is Not Great. In this inspiring book, bestselling author and philosopher André Comte-Sponville offers a new perspective on the question of God's existence, acknowledging the good that has come of religion while advocating tolerance from both believers and non-believers. Through clear, concise, and often humorous prose, Comte-Sponville offers a convincing appeal for a new form of spiritual life, one that at its heart celebrates the human need to connect to one another and the universe."