Dear Harvard Student,

As the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard, I want you to know that if you are reading this, I would be delighted to meet you. It doesn’t matter what you do or don’t believe about God, or what ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or cultural/religious background you come from: meeting with undergraduate and graduate students in my role as Chaplain is something I truly love to do, and it will be my pleasure to get to know you.

My Humanist Chaplaincy Office Hours this semester will be Mondays from 11AM-2PM and by appointment. Please feel most warmly invited, & don’t feel intimidated to make an appointment if Monday is no good for you. I also do weekly lunches with 1st & 2nd year students in the college, where we typically will sit down one-on-one for 90 minutes or so at a nice restaurant like The Bombay Club, b.Good, Smile Thai Cafe, or wherever you like (provided “wherever you like” doesn’t involve lobster or champagne).

Some typical conversations I have with students: a death and/or illness in your family (or your own illness); concerns about love and relationships; religious/theological questions, such as whether God exists, or if not, how you can think about your life as having positive meaning and purpose; what different kinds of Humanist/Agnostic/Atheist organizations exist on campus/nationally/worldwide and how might you get involved with one or more of them; how to talk to your family/significant other about being a Humanist/atheist/agnostic; how to combine being Humanist/non-religious with your love for my Jewish/Indian/Black/Asian/Muslim/Christian/etc. *cultural* identity; and I could go on and on.

As Professor Patricia Churchland, the renowned neurophilosopher who spoke for us in 2005, put it:

“In my thirty-five years of experience, I have found that often students with no religious affiliation feel rather short-changed by the lack of someone sympathetic to talk to about real life problems, especially when they feel disinclined to go to a religious chaplain, or to a psychological counselor. I myself was in such a position as an undergraduate. And sometime the faculty are happy to talk on a purely academic level but do not wish to engage undergraduates about private dilemmas, and vice versa… I do not know whose idea it was to have a Humanist Chaplain at Harvard, but it is clearly a brilliant idea.”

Well, it surely wasn’t my “brilliant” idea that Harvard should have a Humanist Chaplain, but I am deeply committed to serving you in this capacity. Please let me know how I can be helpful to you!

Sincerely,

Greg M. Epstein
Humanist Chaplain of Harvard University
greg_epstein (at) harvard.edu