Defending The Faith, And Morality, Of NonBelievers What does it mean to be Good Without God? Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, asks this question in his new book, which explores the faith of the nonreligious. It may sound like a contradiction, but Epstein believes that human ethics are independent of belief in a supernatural power.

Defending The Faith, And Morality, Of NonBelievers

Defending The Faith, And Morality, Of NonBelievers

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/121813448/121815576" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Greg Epstein is the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. HarperCollins hide caption

toggle caption
HarperCollins

Greg Epstein is the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University.

HarperCollins

Humanism — the belief that ethics and morality can be vested in rationality, rather than a supernatural deity — might sound like a departure from faith communities and culture, but according to Greg Epstein, it doesn't have to be.

In his new book, Good Without God: What A Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, Greg Epstein responds to challenges against humanism that spring from atheists and religious communities alike. Epstein argues that so-called nonbelievers actually share many important beliefs, and he discusses the importance of investing in these values of tolerance, responsibility, and morality.

Epstein himself is an atheist, and the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. Good Without God is his first book.