When I was first expressing my interest in interfaith work, a friend of mine had suggested looking into a man by the name of Chris Stedman, an atheist interfaith activist. After following his work, I was ecstatic when his book came out and I can safely say it is one of my favorite books and inspired me to start this blog.
Source: Faitheist
This book is my go-to book to recommend to people who are looking for something to read. Today I’m giving you 3 main reasons why I think everyone (including you!) should read this book:
1.You’ll learn something new about interfaith work and the non-religious.
Before reading this book, I was really struggling to find someone else who really felt that bringing the non-religious into the interfaith conversation was important. In Faitheist, Stedman acknowledges this void in the interfaith community as well as the misconceptions about both the non-religious and interfaith cooperation that comes with it. In his book, he walks you through his own personal journey and shows you why exactly it is so important that the growing population of non-religious should work together with the religious.
2. You’ll learn about the life of someone extraordinary.
Without giving the book away, the life of Chris Stedman is one full of change, exploration, and self discovery. His faith journey alone changes dramatically from being raised without a faith, to becoming an Evangelical Christian, to becoming an avid anti-religious Atheist, and now an Atheist working towards interfaith cooperation. He also tells the story of when he realized he was gay and his experience with his sexual orientation and being an Evangelical Christian; a very difficult time in his life which would eventually lead him to realize he is an Atheist. He’s traveled across the world, lived in many places, and all the while learning such valuable lessons which he shares with his readers in a captivating way.
3. You’ll learn more about yourself.
When reading this book I felt like so many of my own views were articulated through Chris Stedman’s powerful words. However I also learned so many things I didn’t know and felt so many feelings that I hadn’t felt in a long time. While reading this book I laughed, I cried, I thought, and I believed in what he was saying. After reading this book you will have gained such a new perspective and become a different (and better) person for it.
Interested? You can read more about the book and buy it here on the official website! I can’t recommend this book enough for everyone from all walks of life! It really is an inspirational book. I encourage you to read it and be inspired like I was.
Changing the Faith Line 
Glad to hear you like the book! This is the next one on my reading list! 🙂
Excellent! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Having a benign dialogue between religious persons and atheists is always a good goal. But I am slightly skeptical as to the results, other than maybe not biting each other’s heads off. Their individual perspectives seem to be mutually exclusive, and its hard to see how it could go anywhere except an eventual friendly impasse. Still, I’ll consider reading it in one of my Slutty Book Reports.
Thanks!
I would highly recommend doing so! Chris Stedman really brings to light a lot of good points as well as talks about his own personal success in dialogue. Thanks for reading!
I enthusiastically agree! Very good synopsis of the book and Chris’s message. I hope his book continues to inspire more people.
The paperback comes out in October. Get 25% off if you preorder FAITHEIST or other LGBT titles in June, use the code PRIDE.