A Humanist Approach to Chaplaincy | Greg Epstein

Nov 4, 2025

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When a religious person is isolated from their community, whether due to hospitalization or military service, they can often rely on a chaplain for spiritual support. But where does a non-religious person turn when facing the same circumstances? And what tools do they have for meaning making?

Our guest is Greg Epstein, humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT and author of the New York Times bestselling book Good Without God. As a humanist chaplain, Greg has spent his career building ethical communities that are united around the idea that human sociality and interdependence are a sufficient foundation for a meaningful life. Greg’s writings have been published widely, including in TIME magazine and The Washington Post, and he is a prominent public speaker in humanist and interfaith communities.

In our conversation, Greg explains the role of a humanist chaplain, why a humanist chaplain is not necessarily an oxymoron, and how he guides individuals on their meaning-making journey. We discuss Greg’s candidate for the world’s most powerful word and a humanist’s argument for pursuing the work of healing over wealth. And finally, Greg walks us through the thesis of his most recent book Tech Agnostic – how technology has become a religion of its own, with a particular set of downsides.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

2:30 - Mr Epstein’s personal definitions of ‘chaplain’ and ‘religion’

8:23 - How Mr. Epstein uses a humanist framework to guide meaning-making

24:35 - Is there an absolute ‘good’?

33:25 - The risks of technology as a religion

45:30 - Advice for medical professionals engaged in the work of healing while operating within a system built for profit

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