Humanist Chaplaincy

The BHA recognises that there is a latent demand for non-religious ‘chaplaincy’ services, in particular in closed environments such as hospitals, the armed services, prisons and (to some extent) tertiary and further education. Such services need to be distinguished from

• psychotherapy (where a trained professional treats “disorders of the mind or personality by psychological or psychophysiological methods” (OED))

• counselling (a form of psychotherapy where a trained “counsellor adopts a permissive and supportive role in enabling a client to solve his or her own problems” (OED))

• and from plain befriending or contact, as in prison visiting.

A chaplain in this sense needs to give advice and reassurance on an existential level, helping with questions relating to beliefs and ethics and to a person’s lifestance. There are successful examples of humanist chaplains performing this function for the non-religious in prisons, hospitals and the armed forces in Norway, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Such work requires people with the right personality who have been trained in the role and are knowledgeable about Humanism and the sort of questions that non-religious clients may ask. In the same way, Christian chaplains are knowledgeable about Christianity but are also trained in their chaplaincy roles.

The demand for such services from religious persons is already to a large extent met, especially with the growth of multifaith chaplaincy teams in recent years. There are, however, virtually no humanist chaplains.

This is partly because the demand is latent: the service does not exist and potential users do not realise that it could and should exist.

However, it is mainly because of the practical difficulties in introducing the service. Although there is an increasing acceptance among Christian and other chaplains of the case for humanist chaplains, the BHA is unable to fund their recruitment, training or employment.

Religious chaplains obtain considerable support from public sources. Training in the skills necessary is generally provided at public cost by the service employing them. Some are then employed full- or part-time by the state and its institutions; others are paid on a sessional basis. Some, however, are supported by their religious bodies.

What are we doing?

The BHA continues to promote the idea of humanist chaplaincy and to seek to overcome obstacles (of principle, policy and administration) to the idea. However, no practical progress can be made unless:

(a) the relevant bodies offer free skills training to potential chaplains nominated by the BHA (the BHA would provide the necessary training in matters related to Humanism); and

(b) they agree to pay trained humanist chaplains sessional fees (and potentially in due course subject to demand to offer them part- or full-time employment).

What can you do?

You can support the BHA by becoming a member. That helps in itself, and you can help even more by supporting our campaigns in the ways suggested above. But campaigns also cost money – quite a lot of money – and we also need financial support. You can make a donation to the BHA.