Vanessa Zoltan is a humanistchaplain who describes herself as an "atheist chaplain". She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, and holds a BA in English and writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and a MS in nonprofit management from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been called one of "few" feminist humanist chaplains in the world. Zoltan was a member of Washington University's premier improvisational comedy troupe Mama's Pot Roast from 2002-2004. Zoltan, who stated on CNN that all four of her grandparents were Auschwitz survivors, has said she identifies as "an atheist and a Jew and a humanist". She served as Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University from 2013-2016. Zoltan has delivered talks on interpretation of works such as Jane Eyre and Harry Potter as sacred texts. In March 2019, Zoltan was a recipient of the Gomes Honors from Harvard Divinity School. According to Dean David N. Hempton the 2019 Gomes Honorees "are the spiritual innovators that shape communities of meaning, the vibrancy and diversity of which will be critical to human flourishing in the years to come".
Podcasts
In May 2016, Zoltan and collaborator Casper ter Kuile inaugurated the Harry Potter and the Sacred Text Podcast, a weekly podcast that attempts to read the Harry Potter books as a sacred text. Under the mentorship of Stephanie Paulsell the two explore the characters and context of one chapter per episode through a different central theme, like "vulnerability," "betrayal," or "friendship." Originally produced by Not Sorry Productions, Zoltan's own production company, the podcast was added to the roster of Nightvale Presents in 2019. Harry Potter and the Sacred Text charted #2 on the iTunes Podcast Chart in the US on August 18, 2016, after 13 episodes had aired. The podcast has around 9 million downloads per year and repeatedly featured among the top downloads for Religion and Spirituality in iTunes. Zoltan is also creating a new podcast, Hot and Bothered, which explores writing romance novels as a sacred practice.
