GREG EPSTEIN

Greg M. Epstein, called "the most outspoken voice for Humanism in the United States" by New York magazine, serves as the Humanist Chaplain of Harvard University, and sits on the executive committee of the 36-member corps of Harvard Chaplains. He is an adviser to two student groups at Harvard College, the Secular Society and the Interfaith Council, and to the Harvard Humanist Graduate Community. He also chairs the Academic Advisory Board of the national umbrella organization the Secular Student Alliance, joining such renowned nonbelievers as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. His first book is Good Without God: What a Billion Non-Religious People Do Believe (William Morrow).

An in demand speaker, Epstein has spoken at universities, conferences, religious institutions, and humanist and ethical focused organizations all over the country. He was the primary organizer of "The New Humanism," an international conference in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard University, which drew one of the largest and most diverse audiences of any Humanist gathering in North American history. He was also selected by the United Nations General Assembly to serve as a representative of Humanism at a "High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace."

Epstein is a regular contributor for "On Faith," an online forum on religion produced by Newsweek magazine, the Washington Post, and Tikkun, and his work as a Humanist rabbi and Chaplain has been featured by National Public Radio, BBC Radio, Newsweek, US News and World Report, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the Jewish Daily Forward, and many more.

In Good Without God, Epstein delivers a constructive, challenging response to these manifestos, one that focuses not on the head of atheism but the heart of Humanism. Rather than seeking to destroy religion, Humanists strive to live well, build community, and be good without supernaturalism, without higher powers...without God. At a time when the debate about faith and morality rages more fiercely than ever-and when millions are searching for something they can put their faith in - Humanism offers comfort and hope that affirms our ability to live ethical lives of personal fulfillment, aspiring together for the greater good of all of us.

In 2005 Epstein received ordination as a Humanist Rabbi from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, where he studied in Jerusalem and Michigan for five years. He holds a BA (Religion and Chinese) and an MA (Judaic Studies) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Masters of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School.

Epstein grew up in Flushing, Queens, New York, "the most diverse neighborhood in the most diverse borough in the most diverse city on the planet," as an assimilated and disinterested Reform Jew. He studied Buddhism and Taoism while at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, and in college went to Taiwan for a semester aiming to study Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in its original language and context. Finding that Eastern religions do not necessarily have greater access to truth than Western ones, he returned to the U.S. and shifted his focus to rock music, recording and singing professionally for a year after college. Soon thereafter, he learned of the movement of Humanism and the possibility of a career as a Humanist rabbi and chaplain.