Nones Don’t Exist: The Perils of Labeling and the Reality of Non-Religious Diversity
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Join the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab and Chaplain Ben Iten, ACPE Certified Educator at OhioHealth and Vice President / Chair of the Chaplain Committee of The Humanist Society, for a conversation on the deep nuance often concealed by terms like “Nones,” “Unaffiliated,” and “Nonreligious.”
As the demographics of philosophical affiliation and identification continue to change, chaplains must become and remain aware of the real diversity contained within terminology that often arises out of convenience but later conceals the lived experience of many individuals and communities. What are the distinctions among atheism, agnosticism, humanism, spiritual-but-not-religious, and other identities, and how can chaplains best account for this diversity and serve those who live within these frameworks?
This webinar is supported by the Louisville Institute and is part of our project on religious and non-religious social impact dialogue. You can learn more at ChaplaincyInnovation.org.
This webinar’s learning outcomes have been indexed to ACPE and APC BCCI rubrics, but should not be construed as endorsement by either organization or exclusive of those who are not members of either organization:
ACPE Outcome 3, “Intercultural and Interreligious Humility,” Levels IA, IB, IIA, and IIB.
APC ITP2: Provide spiritual care that incorporates a working knowledge of an academic discipline that is not explicitly religious/ spiritual (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, history).
APC PPS3: Provide spiritual care that respects diversity, relative to differences in race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
APC PPS6: Provide religious/spiritual resources that are appropriate to given care recipients, their spiritualities/ religions, their contexts, and their goals.
APC PPS8: Facilitate care recipients’ own theological/ spiritual/ philosophical reflection.
Ben Iten is Vice President and Chaplain Committee Chair of The Humanist Society. He is now an endorsed Humanist Chaplain, but he was raised in the evangelical church. Over time his academic studies in Judaism (at The Ohio State University) and Bible Interpretation (at the University of Oxford) challenged him to rethink how he understood religion and spirituality. Eventually this rethinking led him to humanism and its progressive outlook on life. Humanist values continue to inspire Ben’s work as a professional chaplain for a major hospital system where he helps people find their inherent worth and dignity. When he’s not out visiting patients, he’s teaching new chaplains and volunteering with his local AHA chapter, the Humanist Community of Central Ohio. He is the first Humanist Chaplain certified by the Humanist Society to seek certification from the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education as a Certified Educator.
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