The New Humanism

06/06/2024

New video posted on LinkedIn, of my remarks/blessing at Harvard's Baccalaureate last month. (I'll post here eventually too but may be awhile.) https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7204517501169270785/

19/04/2024

It's been so exciting to finally be able to share the cover for my upcoming book, Tech Agnostic. I cut back to half-time over five years ago, so I could dedicate as much time and energy as possible to making this, as I believe it is, the best work I've ever done professionally, on *anything.*

Of course, five years is only about a quarter of the time that I've been here, on this website that I joined as "The Facebook," right after arriving at Harvard as a young chaplain almost twenty years ago now. Back then, I had quite elaborate ambitions, as one of only a few people in all of North America to hold the title "humanist chaplain." Specifically, I hoped and believed it could be possible to create a secular community, by and for humanists, atheists, agnostics, and allies, that would connect the world in some of the same ways that religious communities did and do, as well as some new ways. I wrote all about this in my book Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, and when that book amazingly became a New York Times bestseller, I ultimately decided to double down on this community-building goal and start a congregation. Towards which we raised funds well into the seven figures, from thousands of donors and supporters, and held not far from a couple of thousand meetings over the course of a decade of work -- often with lines out the door to get in, and/or with passionate teams of amazing volunteers leading the way. It was extraordinarily challenging but also very rewarding work. We had a lot of success together, to say the least.

But what happens when a website like this one beats a group like ours to the punch? Mark Zuckerberg, after all, *also* set out to "connect the world" in new ways. And indeed, he did. I'm certainly not saying his efforts were all to the good. I don't know that I would even say Facebook and Meta have been a net good for the world (sorry, Facebook friends!). I do, however, have to acknowledge the extraordinary power that the world of tech has amassed. So much so that, now that I've come to see tech as a kind of religion unto itself, I would have to say it is now the world's most powerful religion.

As I shared elsewhere a couple of days ago, the argument in my subtitle is a big claim to have to justify. But if it's got you at all curious, don't worry: It's going to be a fun and meaningful ride making and discussing the case. Meanwhile, enjoy the image, which is not quite but nearly final...the doomscrolling cherub was my idea!

I can't wait to share the book with you. Mark your calendar. It goes on sale 10/29/24! You can pre-order your copy now. If you're a Barnes and Noble person, you can even get a 25-35% discount on pre-orders now, via a special sale that ends today, Friday 4/19. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/_/N-26Z29Z8q8

've been delighted that so many people have already pre-ordered the book in just a couple of days! Please keep that going!
You can read more about the book, and pre-order, at The MIT Press site: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049207/tech-agnostic/; or via Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/757138/tech-agnostic-by-greg-m-epstein/

Thanks so much!

18/04/2024

2 major announcements!

First, I was thrilled earlier tonight to post the cover for my upcoming book Tech Agnostic, for the very first time. That said, forgive me but I posted the image and announcement details on a different social media website! The one with all the work and career stuff. I'll post it here soon too but I'm more active there now and would love for you to drop by and say hi.

Second, tomorrow I'll be on LinkedIn (aforementioned website) with the American Humanist Association and The MIT Press (my publisher for the new book, along with distribution partners Penguin Random House) celebrating national "Ask an Atheist Day," which as the AHA has noted has become a significant tradition that "was created to facilitate respectful and meaningful discourse between religious and non-religious people." What better way to celebrate a major career and life milestone than to spend several hours answering dozens of questions about humanism and the (past, present and) future of work. Come on over and ask a question and/or check out the discussion! Would love to see you.

22/04/2021

Even in grim times, a growing garden refreshes us.

20/04/2021

A secular mindfulness practice:

https://mindfulmoderate.substack.com/p/where-are-you-from

A meditation and a microaggression.

24/09/2018

MIT’s Office of Religious Life is welcoming Greg Epstein as its first-ever humanist chaplain at the Institute. The other chaplains are enthusiastic about the new hiring, since they recognize that there is a large group of secular and nonreligious people at MIT, Epstein said in an interview with Th...

26/11/2017

27/09/2017

https://humanism101.eventbrite.com/

22/09/2017

The Humanist Hub is affiliated with the Humanist Community at Harvard. Look for ants in the background! | eBay!

31/03/2017

More and more Americans don't believe in any religion. There's a church for that.

08/03/2017

RELEASE: First Atheist NFL Star Speaks at Harvard

12/05/2016

Experience the benefits of meditation without the religious trappings with journalist Rick Heller.

27/02/2016

Greta Christina's review of The Humanist Hub's new book on meditation and mindfulness

BOOK BY RICK HELLER NEW WORLD LIBRARY, 2015 288 PP.; $15.95 The very short review of Rick Heller’s Secular Meditation: If you’re curious about secular meditation and mindfulness, there’s finally a book for you. And it’s a good one. The somewhat longer review: the book is exactly what it sounds like—a guide to meditation practices, …

17/02/2016

Here is a video of a dialogue between Rick Heller and Ohio State professor and fellow humanist Gleb Tsipursky about how to find meaning in one's life, using a variety of strategies, including mindfulness.

How do we find meaning in our lives? Can mindfulness help? That’s the subject of my discussion with Gleb Tsipursky of Intentional Insights, author of Find Your Purpose Using Science.

06/02/2016

The Secular Buddhist Association has reviewed Secular Meditation: http://secularbuddhism.org/2016/01/20/secular-meditation-a-review/

When I reviewed Sam Harris’ book, Waking Up, in these pages, I lamented that the book failed to live up to its subtitle, “A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion.” Indeed, there are a growing number of volumes, from writers like Harris, Stephen Batchelor and others, that discuss the philosophical u…

22/01/2016

Why does Atheist Meditation make more sense than Atheist Baseball? One of the things Mark W. Gura and Rick Heller talk about in this recorded dialogue on meditation for nonbelievers:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/gregepstein/2016/01/atheist-meditation-mark-w-gura-and-rick-heller-in-dialogue/