A humanist has been appointed as the first non-religious head chaplain at a British university, taking charge of a team that includes priests and rabbis.
Young people are much less likely than older generations to have a religious faith or to believe in God, but they still have a “hunger” for answers to big philosophical questions on the meaning of life and death and a desire for “spiritual fulfilment”, said James Croft, who has been appointed as lead chaplain and faith adviser at the University of Sussex.
Croft has this month taken over a chaplaincy team that includes Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox priests and a rabbi, as well as Muslim, Quaker, Methodist, United Reformed and Buddhist chaplains.
