The story of a former Evangelical Christian turned openly gay atheist who now works to bridge the divide between atheists and the religious
The stunning popularity of the "New Atheist" movement-whose most famous spokesmen include Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens-speaks to both the growing ranks of atheists and the widespread, vehement disdain for religion among many of them. In Faitheist, Chris Stedman tells his own story to challenge the orthodoxies of this movement and make a passionate argument that atheists should engage religious diversity respectfully.
Becoming aware of injustice, and craving community, Stedman became a "born-again" Christian in late childhood. The idea of a community bound by God's love-a love that was undeserved, unending, and guaranteed-captivated him. It was, he writes, a place to belong and a framework for making sense of suffering.
But Stedman's religious community did not embody this idea of God's love: they were staunchly homophobic at a time when he was slowly coming to realize that he was gay. The great suffering this caused him might have turned Stedman into a life-long New Atheist. But over time he came to know more open-minded Christians, and his interest in service work brought him into contact with people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds. His own religious beliefs might have fallen away, but his desire to change the world for the better remained. Disdain and hostility toward religion was holding him back from engaging in meaningful work with people of faith. And it was keeping him from full relationships with them-the kinds of relationships that break down intolerance and improve the world.
In Faitheist, Stedman draws on his work organizing interfaith and secular communities, his academic study of religion, and his own experiences to argue for the necessity of bridging the growing chasm between atheists and the religious. As someone who has stood on both sides of the divide, Stedman is uniquely positioned to present a way for atheists and the religious to find common ground and work together to make this world-the one world we can all agree on-a better place.
Chris Stedman is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, the emeritus managing director of State of Formation at the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, and the founder of the first blog dedicated to exploring atheist-interfaith engagement, NonProphet Status. Stedman writes for the Huffington Post, the Washington Post's On Faith blog, and Religion Dispatches. He lives in Boston.
Show moreThe story of a former Evangelical Christian turned openly gay atheist who now works to bridge the divide between atheists and the religious
The stunning popularity of the "New Atheist" movement-whose most famous spokesmen include Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens-speaks to both the growing ranks of atheists and the widespread, vehement disdain for religion among many of them. In Faitheist, Chris Stedman tells his own story to challenge the orthodoxies of this movement and make a passionate argument that atheists should engage religious diversity respectfully.
Becoming aware of injustice, and craving community, Stedman became a "born-again" Christian in late childhood. The idea of a community bound by God's love-a love that was undeserved, unending, and guaranteed-captivated him. It was, he writes, a place to belong and a framework for making sense of suffering.
But Stedman's religious community did not embody this idea of God's love: they were staunchly homophobic at a time when he was slowly coming to realize that he was gay. The great suffering this caused him might have turned Stedman into a life-long New Atheist. But over time he came to know more open-minded Christians, and his interest in service work brought him into contact with people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds. His own religious beliefs might have fallen away, but his desire to change the world for the better remained. Disdain and hostility toward religion was holding him back from engaging in meaningful work with people of faith. And it was keeping him from full relationships with them-the kinds of relationships that break down intolerance and improve the world.
In Faitheist, Stedman draws on his work organizing interfaith and secular communities, his academic study of religion, and his own experiences to argue for the necessity of bridging the growing chasm between atheists and the religious. As someone who has stood on both sides of the divide, Stedman is uniquely positioned to present a way for atheists and the religious to find common ground and work together to make this world-the one world we can all agree on-a better place.
Chris Stedman is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, the emeritus managing director of State of Formation at the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, and the founder of the first blog dedicated to exploring atheist-interfaith engagement, NonProphet Status. Stedman writes for the Huffington Post, the Washington Post's On Faith blog, and Religion Dispatches. He lives in Boston.
Show moreForeword by Eboo Patel
Chapter 1: There's Nothing Worse Than a Faitheist
Chapter 2: Starting Secular, Seeking Substance
Chapter 3: Conversation and Confusion
Chapter 4: Losing and Finding My Religion
Chapter 5: Unholier Than Though: Saying Goodbye to God
Chapter 6: Putting My money Where Other People's Mouths Are
Chapter 7: In Search of the Secular Soul
Chapter 8: Fact or Friction, Engage or Enrage
Afterword
Acknowledgements
Notes
Chris Stedman is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard
University, the emeritus managing director of State of Formation at
the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, and the founder of the
first blog dedicated to exploring atheist-interfaith engagement,
NonProphet Status. Stedman writes for the Huffington Post, the
Washington Post's On Faith blog, and Religion Dispatches. He lives
in Boston.
From the Hardcover edition.
“Christians like me have heard lots of ‘testimonies’—how I once was
lost but now am found, was blind ... and so on. We've heard how
atheists converted to Christianity, how backsliders came back to
piety, and how heretics returned to orthodoxy. What we haven’t
heard enough of is testimonies about how a Christian became an
atheist or how an atheist became a faitheist or how a gay
Evangelical came out of the closet and out of the church. I’ve
never read, heard, or met anyone better suited to this task than
Chris Stedman. His beautiful writing voice, his poignant
story-telling skill, his clear-eyed insight, his humane and humble
empathy uniquely equip him to bear witness to everyone—especially
Christians like me. Rigid anti-theists and theists alike will be
challenged as they read—challenged to greater humanity, empathy,
and understanding. Wholeheartedly recommended.”—Brian D. McLaren,
author of Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the
Road?
“Smart. Funny. Heartening. Inspiring. Faitheist is the
perfect book for those seeking a middle path between the firm,
opposing certainties of religious fundamentalism and intolerant
atheism.”—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God and Beyond
Fundamentalism
“If Chris Stedman had become a pastor, he’d have a big, big church.
Instead, he’s a humanist hero, a compelling writer whose efforts to
build bridges between non-believers and the faithful will leave a
lasting mark. Faitheist should be required reading in Sunday
schools and Richard Dawkins’s house alike.” —Kevin Roose, author of
The Unlikely Disciple
“Agree or disagree with Chris Stedman (and there will be many who
do both), no one can deny that he has written a deeply human
book—human in its description of his own pilgrimage and human in
its call to theists and non-theists alike to seek out common
ground. The world would be a better place with more Chris Stedman’s
in it and fortunately he has provided us a roadmap to just such a
world.”—The Rev. William F. Schulz, President, Unitarian
Universalist Service Committee
“Who can we be together? Chris Stedman asks in this powerful book.
Faitheist reveals that it’s not what we believe that matters, but
how our beliefs shape what we do with our lives—a timely reminder
for both atheists and the religious that the goal should be neither
conversion nor the destruction of religion, but rather to make a
better world.”—Sarah Sentilles, author of Breaking Up with God: A
Love Story
“Stedman the atheist pays God the ultimate
compliment: He provides a vigorous, amusing dissent
to the all-too-glib magical ‘thinking’ both most Americanized
big time religion and most so-called
New Atheists are selling. Unlike the New
Atheist stars and America's blathering religious
fundamentalists Stedman lays the groundwork for constructive
engagement between all of us—no matter what we believe...or
don't.”—Frank Schaeffer, author of Crazy For God
“Chris Stedman’s remarkable work has spanned from advocating for
LGBTQ rights among Evangelical Christians to, in his current role
at Harvard, founding the first-ever atheist-led interfaith
initiative -- and he's only twenty-five. Part memoir and part
blueprint, Faitheist not only recounts his personal journey (which
would be a riveting story on its own), but also shows --
sensitively and humorously -- how Humanists can live out our values
with both empathy and honesty. This book represents the growing
secular movement at its very best.” —Greg M. Epstein, Humanist
Chaplain at Harvard University, author of Good Without God: What a
Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe
“The searching, intelligent account of a gay man's experiences
growing away from God and into a thoughtful and humane atheist…
Brave and refreshingly open-minded.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Enter Stedman, avowed atheist, former Fundamentalist Christian,
and current interfaith activist whose heartfelt and
thought-provoking account of his struggle with God and religion
serves as a call to arms for those seeking to bridge the gap
between the religious and the secular… To that end he paints an
intimate and deeply affecting portrait of his own life, one
characterized by the sort of staggering dissonances—gay Christian
teen, religion-degree-seeking atheist—that could cripple a person.
But Stedman is nothing if not determined, and his resulting journey
toward personal reconciliation through service work and interfaith
dialogue is inspiring. Stedman’s story is motivational, his
thoughts on interreligious dialogue insightful, and in this short
memoir, he proves himself an activist in the truest sense and one
to watch.”
—Booklist, Starred Review
"Faitheist, a new memori by local author Chris Stedman, promotes a
warm, loving, and witty serving of intercultural dialogue."—Scott
Kearnan, Boston Spirit
“An enlightening and engaging memoir.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
"His book about being religious and being secular, together, offers
his hope for a better world"
—Toledo Blade
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