Chaplaincy
The C Word
Tim Maguire, humanist celebrant, and honorary humanist chaplain at the University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy Centre, Bristo Place
Humanist chaplain? Yes, it sounds like an oxymoron, but just as there are atheists in foxholes, there are humanists in chaplaincy, and their number is growing. The best known hail from the USA. Greg Epstein is the humanist chaplain at Harvard, whose book Good Without God made the New York Times best-selling list a few years back, while on the opposite coast, John Theodore has just been appointed to that role at Stanford. As atheists are the least-trusted, most feared segment of American society, it’s encouraging that in these progressive centres of learning, a humanist presence is not merely tolerated but actively welcomed. At universities in the
UK, humanist chaplains are generally conspicuous by their absence, but things are changing. Mandy Evans-Ewing is the humanist chaplain at both
www.humanism-scotland.org.uk
rock up looking for their guidance and advice. The reason – I suspect – is The C Word.
The University of Glasgow, and Glasgow Caledonian University, which is great – until you discover that there are no humanist students, and no student humanist societies at either of them. By contrast in Edinburgh,
there’s is a new humanist chaplain me, but until I was appointed this month, there was a large and active student humanist society, and lots of humanist students. Their pastoral needs were met by the multi-faith team at the Chaplaincy Centre who minister to “All faiths and none”, but as they admit, not many humanists
Chaplain is just one of many words including pastor, spirituality and service, that rankle with non-religious people because they come with centuries of religious baggage. I don’t have a problem with it, but I think it’s the main reason most students give the place a body swerve. I arranged to meet one of the Chaplaincy Centre’s few avowedly atheist fans, 19 year old Kirsty Haigh, and when I dropped by just before midday one Monday, the air was heavy with the scent of sweet potato, lime, and coconut soup, made by a smiling group of volunteer cooks.
A second year student of International Relations, Kirsty describes herself as a closet atheist and a left wing social activist and it’s
obvious which tag is more important to her. She’s the president of her own organisation, Bollocks to Poverty, she serves on the Student Council, she’s the campaigns organiser for the Feminist Society, and she’s involved in at least three others, so she’s a busy young woman.
As she told me: “The Chaplaincy Centre is where a lot of interesting people come, people who are interested in sustainability and ethical issues, and I’ve made most of my friends here. It’s a great place to hang out, where a shared interest in social justice matters more than differences of opinion on matters of faith, or lack of it.”
I asked Kirsty why she thinks chaplaincy isn’t more popular with the non- religious. “I think when you hear the word chaplaincy, you expect to be confronted by some kind of religious
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