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John Figdor

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Jonathan Figdor
Alma materVassar College, Harvard Divinity School
OccupationHumanist Chaplain at Stanford University
Websitewww.atheistmindhumanistheart.com

John Figdor is a cryptocurrency fundraiser[1] and former humanist chaplain at Stanford University,[2][3] where he organized events and programs for students and community members in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was the first humanist chaplain at a university on the West Coast.[4] As a humanist officiant, Figdor oversees non-theistic weddings, funerals, and baby-naming ceremonies.[3][5]

Early life and education

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Figdor received his B.A. with honors in philosophy from Vassar College[3] and a master's degree (M.Div.) in humanism and interfaith dialogue from Harvard Divinity School.[4][5]

Career

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Figdor was an Organizing Fellow of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University[5] and a former Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard,[6] working with Greg Epstein.

Figdor was appointed to his position at Stanford University in 2012, where he worked with humanists, atheists, and agnostics. The organization holds a variety of events, such as dinners, public lectures, art gallery tours, pub nights, discussions and debates, and game nights.[7] Previous notable speakers have included Richard Dawkins.[8]

In 2014, Figdor coauthored, together with Lex Bayer, the book Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart: Rewriting the Ten Commandments for the Twenty-First Century (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).[9][10] Figdor also organized the Rethink Prize, a crowdsourcing competition to rethink the Ten Commandments. The contest drew more than 2,800 submissions from 18 countries and 27 U.S. states. Winners were selected by a panel of judges in 2014.[11][12]

Figdor is a former board member of the Secular Student Alliance.[5] Figdor and his work have been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle,[6] the Huffington Post,[2][13] the Washington Post.,[9][14] Salon,[15] CNN,[11] and TIME.[16]

In 2016, Figdor left Stanford to work at Empowerly as an account executive and account manager. In 2021, he joined Ideas Beyond Borders as the Director of West Coast Operations and Crypto Evangelist.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "John Figdor - Account Executive and Account Manager at Empowerly". THE ORG. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Alan (28 December 2012). "John Figdor Appointed as Atheist Chaplain at Stanford". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Chaplain John Figdor develops humanist community on campus". Stanford Daily. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Stanford's New Humanist Chaplain: John Figdor". The Stanford Review. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Secular Student Alliance John Figdor". Secular Student Alliance. Retrieved 13 June 2013.[dead link]
  6. ^ a b Asimov, Nanette (22 December 2012). "Stanford gets a chaplain for atheists". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Stanford Humanist Community". Stanford Humanist Community. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Richard Dawkins @ Stanford Humanist Community 2012 10 11". YouTube. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  9. ^ a b Kimberly Winston (November 20, 2014). "10 Commandments for atheists: a guide for nonbelievers who want to explore their values". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  10. ^ "Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Daniel Burke (December 20, 2014). "Behold, atheists' new Ten Commandments". CNN. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  12. ^ "The Rethink Prize". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  13. ^ "The Atheist Chaplain". Huffington Post Live. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  14. ^ Shulman, Robin (21 December 2008). "Humanist Parents Seek Communion Outside Church". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  15. ^ Michael Schulson (December 7, 2014). "Humanist chaplain John Figdor: "Religion introduces moral problems that wouldn't exist otherwise"". Salon. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  16. ^ "Here's a Secular Alternative to the Ten Commandments". TIME. December 21, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
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