James Croft
  • Male
  • Somerville, MA
  • United States
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zainabdosi left a comment for James Croft
"Hellozainab is my namei was moved to write you on www.peacenext.org for a heart2heart discussion wheni came across your page .so If u don't mind,write me directly with this mail ID,(zainabdosi@yahoo.in)i will send u my photo(zainabdosi@yahoo.in)"
Jan 4
James Croft's blog post was featured

Creating Change or Reinforcing Privilege?

This post originally appeared on my personal blog, Temple of the Future. Zack Ford, an atheist LGBTQ blogger and activist, has written eloquently on many of these issues. Find his posts on this topic here.Baltimore, MD. Charm City. Thousands of LGBTQ activists throng the halls of the Hilton, networking, strategizing and, let's be honest, hooking-up, intent on securing full equality and social…See More
Feb 15, 2012
James Croft posted a blog post

Creating Change or Reinforcing Privilege?

This post originally appeared on my personal blog, Temple of the Future. Zack Ford, an atheist LGBTQ blogger and activist, has written eloquently on many of these issues. Find his posts on this topic here.Baltimore, MD. Charm City. Thousands of LGBTQ activists throng the halls of the Hilton, networking, strategizing and, let's be honest, hooking-up, intent on securing full equality and social…See More
Feb 14, 2012
James Croft's blog post was featured

The Humanist Community Project – Building Communities of Reason, Compassion, and Hope

"For too many people, the choice is between a religious community, or no community at all." So said Kate Lovelady, leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, one of few thriving Humanist communities in the USA (and perhaps the world).She's right. That's why the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard today launched the Humanist Community Project, an effort to bring freethinkers together to share resources, ideas, and aspirations…See More
Dec 13, 2011
James Croft posted a blog post

The Humanist Community Project – Building Communities of Reason, Compassion, and Hope

"For too many people, the choice is between a religious community, or no community at all." So said Kate Lovelady, leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, one of few thriving Humanist communities in the USA (and perhaps the world).She's right. That's why the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard today launched the Humanist Community Project, an effort to bring freethinkers together to share resources, ideas, and aspirations…See More
Dec 12, 2011
James Croft was featured
Nov 11, 2011
James Croft posted a blog post

Museum or Memorial, and Why It Matters: Thoughts on Religious Symbolism

Put yourself in the shoes of a family member of a 9/11 victim, visiting the 9/11 Memorial for the very first time on September 11th, 2011.  You wander through the eight-acre Memorial quadrant for a while, finding solace among the trees, a core of quiet within the Big Apple. You follow the sound of falling water to one of the twin reflecting pools, marking the footprints of the fallen Towers, and stand at the rim watching the water flow endlessly…See More
Aug 4, 2011
James Croft posted a blog post

Defeating Dogmatism

I've always been a contrarian. Christopher Hitchens' Letters to a Young Contrarian is one of my very favorite books. I will take a position against any recognized orthodoxy, often arguing the opposite side of a case to the one I truly support if I feel strong opposition is lacking. I like to probe and prod and…See More
Jul 3, 2011

Profile Information

Religion / Faith
Humanist
I have attended the Parliament of Religions:
Never
Local Religious Community / Interfaith Affiliation:
Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard
Website:
http://thenewhumanism.org
I have come to PeaceNext looking for:
networking, interreligious exploration, intrareligious reflection, friendship
I am inspired by:
The human quest to better understand our experience, and to make the world a place where all human beings can achieve their fullest potential.
My favorite spiritual places:
I love contemplating the wonder of the universe from inside a planetarium.
Interreligious causes I care about:
The role of naturalists in interreligious discussion.
Changes I am working toward in my community:
I'm trying to encourage Humanists to articulate a more powerful narrative of what a Humanist world looks like, instead of focussing on the inadequacies of religious belief.
About Me:
James Croft, 27, is a candidate for an Ed.D in Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where he works with Howard Gardner, world-renowned creator of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI). James holds an M.Ed in Arts in Education from HGSE, and an MA in Education with Drama and English from the University of Cambridge, where he graduated with a double First-Class degree. He is privileged to have been made a Frank Knox Memorial Fellow, one of the most prestigious academic awards at Harvard, and has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

James is fascinated by all the places in which the study of the arts and of the mind collide, and wants to work to better human communities through art. Currently, he’s exploring how young people develop their abilities of ethical reasoning through theatre, by observing a program which seeks to teach children moral values by having them perform plays based on the lives of great moral exemplars like Socrates and Galileo.

This work extends James’s long interest in human development and empowerment. For two years James worked part-time for the London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project (LSW), a charity that takes Shakespeare into prisons around the UK to empower and inspire inmates.

James is also an Ambassador for the Teach First program (the British equivalent of Teach for America), from which he graduated with distinction in July 2007, and is an experienced actor and singer, having performed in many locations around the world including St Peter's Basilica in Rome, Shakespeare's Globe, the Barbican, and the Royal Albert Hall.

James sees all his varied endeavors as intimately linked to his Humanism. He is a co-chair of the Humanist Graduate Community at Harvard, where he works closely with Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein, is one of the editors of TheNewHumanism.org, and is currently undergoing the process of becoming a Humanist Celebrant. James is heeding a calling to promote human welfare and development by providing the full range of existential resources which religious people can draw on to those who take a naturalistic perspective. He believes that Humanists, as well as forcefully confronting the dehumanizing aspects of religious belief and practice, can and should build community spaces, common rituals and narrative resources to work together toward a more humane world.

James Croft's Blog

Creating Change or Reinforcing Privilege?

Posted on February 14, 2012 at 2:00pm 0 Comments

This post originally appeared on my personal blog, Temple of the Future. Zack Ford, an atheist LGBTQ blogger and activist, has written eloquently on many of these issues. Find his posts on this topic here.

Baltimore, MD. Charm City. Thousands of LGBTQ activists throng the halls of the Hilton, networking, strategizing and, let's be honest,…

Continue

The Humanist Community Project – Building Communities of Reason, Compassion, and Hope

Posted on December 12, 2011 at 3:01pm 0 Comments

"For too many people, the choice is between a religious community, or no community at all." So said Kate Lovelady, leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, one of few thriving Humanist communities in the USA (and perhaps the world).

She's right. That's why the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard today launched the Humanist Community Project, an effort to bring freethinkers together to share resources, ideas, and…

Continue

Museum or Memorial, and Why It Matters: Thoughts on Religious Symbolism

Posted on August 4, 2011 at 4:01am 0 Comments

Put yourself in the shoes of a family member of a 9/11 victim, visiting the 9/11 Memorial for the very first time on September 11th, 2011.  You wander through the eight-acre Memorial quadrant for a while, finding solace among the trees, a core of quiet within the Big Apple. You follow the sound of falling water to one of the twin reflecting pools, marking the footprints of the fallen Towers, and stand at the rim watching the water flow…

Continue

Defeating Dogmatism

Posted on July 3, 2011 at 8:19pm 0 Comments

I've always been a contrarian. Christopher Hitchens' Letters to a Young Contrarian is one of my very favorite books. I will take a position against any recognized orthodoxy, often arguing the opposite side of a case to the one I truly support if I feel strong opposition is lacking. I like to probe…

Continue

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At 4:40am on January 4, 2013, zainabdosi said…




Hello
zainab is my name
i was moved to write you on www.peacenext.org for a heart2heart discussion when
i came across your page .so If u don't mind,write me directly with this mail ID,
(zainabdosi@yahoo.in)i will send u my photo

(zainabdosi@yahoo.in)

At 4:03pm on November 23, 2010, James Croft said…
Hello all! Take a look at my first posts for State of Formation here!

No Hole in the Heart: Defeating the “Deity Deficit” (on developing a positive Humanist identity)
http://goo.gl/yNVVF

Frying Feelings – When Common Ground is Scorched Earth (on the religious basis of gay conversion therapy)
http://goo.gl/ucPaN