Face of the Day

An atheist academic who lived as a “secular priest” for a year says non-believers in New Zealand can learn a thing or two from those who have a faith.

Niki Harre, who heads up the University of Auckland’s School of Psychology, launched herself into Christianity during a sabbatical to explore what’s lost when religion fades away – and has since produced a book recounting her experience, titled The Calling.

Her experiment consisted of immersing herself in the life of a Christian – including reading the Bible and attending church – all while trying to live the life of a priest by embracing three “vows” of simplicity, hospitality and prayer, and running her own services and rituals.

In an interview with Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night, Harre said she had always been interested in questions about how we live well together, and about a decade earlier had started to apply a religious philosophy lens to those questions.

“Over time, I got this idea that I really was a priest, even though I’m a university lecturer and an atheist,” she explained.

NZ Herald