Bart Campolo
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Bart Campolo (born April 2, 1963) is an American
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
speaker and writer. He is the son of
Tony Campolo Anthony Campolo Jr. (February 25, 1935 – November 19, 2024) was an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, public speaker, and spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. Campolo was an influential leader in the evangelical left. ...
, and was a pastor before transitioning from Christianity to secular humanism. Campolo is the co-founder of Mission Year and the author of several books including ''Kingdom Works: True Stories of God and His People in Inner City America'' and ''Things We Wish We Had Said'', which he co-wrote with his father. His most recent book, ''Why I Left, Why I Stayed'', also co-written with his father, is a reflection on both men's "spiritual odysseys and how they evolved when their paths diverged." He was the first Humanist
Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
.


Early life and education

Bart Campolo was born April 2, 1963, in Philadelphia. He was named for the Swiss Reformed theologian
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...
. Campolo attended
Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...
before completing a
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in
Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...
from
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
.


Ministry work

In 1999, Campolo and his wife, Marty, founded Mission Year, an urban Christian ministry program. It was born out of the merger of their first organization, Kingdomworks, and Campolo's father's Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education. Following a cycling accident during the summer of 2011, Campolo announced that he no longer believed in God and has become a
secular humanist Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...
. Campolo decided that "He’d help eopleaccept that we’re all going to die, that this life is all there is and that therefore we have to make the most of our brief, glorious time on earth." He became the first Humanist chaplain at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
. Campolo gave a talk at the first 5 Talent Academy teaching event in Richmond, VA, on October 1, 2009. Campolo has spoken at several atheist and secular events including Atheists United, Houston Oasis, Atheist Community of San Jose, Secular Student Alliance, and
Sunday Assembly Sunday Assembly is a non-religious gathering co-founded by Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans in January 2013 in London, England. The gathering is mostly for non-religious people who want a similar communal experience to a religious church, thou ...
Los Angeles.


Writing and religious commentary

Bart Campolo sparked controversy after publishing an article in ''The Journal of Student Ministries'' titled "The Limits of God's Grace". This article, which argues that God is not currently in control of the universe and will eventually utterly triumph over evil, was perceived as heretical by evangelical Christians, most notably by ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'', who drew comparisons between Campolo and
Ivan Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' ( rus, Братья Карамазовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly ...
. Campolo engaged in conversations with his evangelical father after becoming a secular humanist. They co-authored a book exploring the issues at the center of these conversations, and a documentary film (''Leaving My Father's Faith'') was released in 2018 which features the conversations between them and tell the story of Bart's journey out of faith. Campolo is the host of the ''Humanize Me!'' podcast, first released on February 1, 2016. The podcast centers around encouraging people to help others selflessly. As of April 2018, Campolo has published 65 episodes of ''Humanize Me!''


Published works

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References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campolo, Bart American agnostics American atheists American former Protestants American humanists American religion and spirituality podcasters 21st-century American writers Brown University alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Secular humanists University and college chaplains in the United States University of Southern California people 1962 births