Join us for this historic event, where Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) will give his first ever public remarks on the subject of his becoming the first member of US Congress openly without a belief in god. Stark, a senior member of the influential Ways & Means Committee, and a veteran of the US Air Force, will receive the 15th annual Harvard Humanist of the Year award, presented by Harvard's Humanist Chaplaincy for atheists, agnostics and the non-religious, along with the Harvard Secular Society.

Despite these honors, Stark denies that it takes courage to become the first admitted non-theist in the House. "What is courageous," he adds, "is to stand up in Congress and say, 'Let's tax the rich and give money to poor kids."' There are many ways to be a true believer.