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  "description": "“Over time, I got this idea that I really was a priest, even though I’m a university lecturer and an atheist,” she explained.",
  "path": "/face-of-the-day-1423/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-04T17:30:35.000Z",
  "site": "https://goodoil.news",
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  "textContent": "> An atheist academic who lived as a “secular priest” for a year says non-believers in New Zealand can learn a thing or two from those who have a faith.\n>\n> Niki Harre, who heads up the University of Auckland’s School of Psychology, launched herself into Christianity during a sabbatical to explore what’s lost when religion fades away – and has since produced a book recounting her experience, titled  _The Calling_.\n>\n> Her experiment consisted of immersing herself in the life of a Christian – including reading the  _Bible_ and attending church – all while trying to live the life of a priest by embracing three “vows” of simplicity, hospitality and prayer, and running her own services and rituals.\n>\n> In an interview with Newstalk ZB’s  _Real Life with John Cowan_ on Sunday night, Harre said she had always been interested in questions about how we live well together, and about a decade earlier had started to apply a religious philosophy lens to those questions.\n>\n> “Over time, I got this idea that I really was a priest, even though I’m a university lecturer and an atheist,” she explained.\n>\n> NZ Herald\n\nRead More",
  "title": "Face of the Day",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-04T17:30:35.139Z"
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