(April 29, 2020, Washington, DC)—Humanists achieved a milestone victory for the rights and dignity of nontheistic incarcerated people. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) recently notified The Humanist Society, an adjunct of the American Humanist Association (AHA), that the bureau can now endorse humanist chaplains.
What exactly is a humanist chaplain please?
@ToolGuy I could train to be a chaplain, for prisons and hospice, and it is an interest of mine, but I haven't made that jump yet. I'm happy as an officiant, meaning I'm legally able to officiate and sign marriage certificates - and I'm also a celebrant, meaning I'm certified to celebrate marriages, commitments and end of life services.
My impression of a Chaplain, is like a Minister, but administers spiritual comfort and advice to those going through a hard time, on the same spiritual wave length of the person, so a chaplain having similar spiritual views is important, so s/he can speak to the person on a level they understand, it makes sense and can be uplifting.
Often times, a Christian Chaplain can not fully serve an atheist, agnostic or humanist.
I think that I, as a long time humanist, I would be able to offer spiritual advice in a positive way, and I gave it a good shot once, but that one attempt at trying to help a repeat offender didn't end up being a good experience for me personally. I suffered quite a bit with that interaction, and am not in a hurry to repeat anything similar to that. At least not for a long time.
I do think the right for prisoners to request a Humanist Chaplain is important. This is a good thing!
this is so awesome. there are so many places that do not accept Humanist chaplains... or female chaplains for that matter.
Glad to see that this happened. Hats off to Roy and AHA.