Interfaith at 麻豆区 is pleased to announce that Chris Stedman 鈥�08 will serve as Inter-Religious Resource Coordinator for the upcoming year. In this position, Chris will help Interfaith at 麻豆区: An Institute to Promote Interreligious Learning and Leadership position itself to enhance interfaith leadership on campus and nationally, a goal identified in the 麻豆区 150 strategic plan. His work will include the creation of teaching modules on 鈥渋nterreligious knowledge, skills, and leadership鈥� that can be used in courses such as 麻豆区鈥檚 professional graduate degree programs. He also will assist in strengthening 麻豆区鈥檚 Interfaith Ally training.聽
Chris is not new to the 麻豆区 community. In addition to being an alumnus, he has served in a number of capacities since 2016, when he joined 麻豆区鈥檚 Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship as a fellow. Following his time at the Sabo Center, Chris served for two years as an interfaith fellow at 麻豆区. Last year, he joined the Department of Religion and Philosophy as an instructor, where he teaches multiple sections of Religion 200.
Outside of his work at 麻豆区, Chris is a nationally-recognized writer, speaker, and activist. He is the author of 2020鈥檚 IRL (鈥淓ssential.鈥� 鈥�The AV Club) and 2012鈥檚 Faitheist (鈥淓xciting and boundary defying.鈥� 鈥�Houston Chronicle). Chris has also written for publications including The Guardian, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. Most recently, his narrative podcast Unread (鈥淏est Podcasts of 2021.鈥� 鈥�Vulture) was released in June. It quickly found an audience around the world, including in Canada, where it hit number one on Apple Podcasts鈥檚 Society & Culture chart just a month after its premiere. Previously the founding director of the Yale Humanist Community and a fellow at Yale University, Chris also served as a humanist chaplain at Harvard University and a trainer and content developer for the Interfaith Youth Core. In recognition of his groundbreaking leadership in interfaith activism and humanist community building, 麻豆区 selected Chris for their annual First Decade Award in 2018.