From Hamline to Harvard: Crossing religious boundaries
Students from Hamline’s new Values in Action program traveled to Massachusetts to explore the origins of VIA.
(Left to right) Hamline students Kevin Watson, Mia Jackman, Maggie Blackmon and Sofia White from the Values in Action program pose in front of the John Harvard statue on campus.
This past year, Hamline University became the first university outside of Harvard University to launch the Values in Action (VIA) program developed by Chris Stedman, author of “Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious.” According to Kevin Watson, the Communications Coordinator in Alumni Relations, the goal of this program is to bring together humanists, secularists, atheists and other nontheists to do good in the world and additionally to partner with religious folks and other community organizations to promote a better understanding of nontheists.
Student leader of the program Sofia White added, “It is a service opportunity for students who identify as atheists, humanists, secularists and nontheists to get involved in service work.”
Participants in the program had the opportunity to visit Harvard University over the weekend of March 8. The purpose of the trip was “to learn new ideas, strengthen our partnership and gain knowledge to further Hamline’s VIA programming,” Maggie Blackmon, Coordinator of Community Service Initiatives, said. The trip involved a tour of the area, including the newly opened Humanist meeting space, the Humanist Hub.
Additionally, everyone met with existential counselors working as teachers in the Humanists Hub’s learning lab: Greg Epstein, author of the book “Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe;” Chris Stedmanand, and Zachary Cole, intern for the Humanist Hub.
“It’s important to see their Hub because it’s cool to see how far it’s come. We can see what to do at Hamline,” White said.
The VIA program at Hamline hopes to pursue a variety of service projects in the near future. Some programs include helping the homeless, getting involved in literacy and tutoring programs and working on environmental and sustainability programs. Furthermore, Blackmon, Watson and White hope to have guest speakers, programs and events and group meetings.
VIA has worked with the Hamline Secular Student Alliance and looks forward to working with other groups on campus as well.
