FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov 5, 1999

Contact:

Pete Sanborn
Office of Public Relations
617-627-3824
peter.sanborn@tufts.edu

Doonesbury's Reverend Provides Real-Life Advice
McLennan's new book explains why so many are
unsatisfied with their religion

MEDFORD, Mass.- Tufts University Chaplain Scotty McLennan - the inspiration for Doonesbury's Rev. Scott Sloan - has developed a groundbreaking guide to religion which explains why so many Americans are questioning their traditional faith.

   As many as 30 - 40 percent of Americans leave their traditional faith for another, reports the Boston Globe. That figure is substantially higher than 50 years ago. According to McLennan, most of these people are experiencing "Independence," the fourth of six stages of religious development as defined in his book: Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up With Has Lost Its Meaning.

   "While many people are raised with a particular religion, they continue to feel fragmented - they don't find anything deep or enduring in their loves," McLennan said. "My guide helps these people find a new spirituality - one that provides them with stability."

   McLennan's book targets an unlikely religious community - those people who are confused by their religion, rather than those who are spiritually stable. As a religious convert himself, McLennan personally understands why so many Americans have chosen to "abandon the faith they grew up with." His new book provides some solutions.

   For Finding Your Religion, McLennan called on his conversations with students and faculty during his 15-year tenure as Tufts' chaplain as well as his relationships with religious leaders around the world. "I was able to pull together a lifetime of academic learning and personal experience of my own. The writing experience was a joy, feeling as if I was living and breathing my passion onto the pages," McLennan said.

    McLennan is available to discuss Finding Your Religion and his six stages of religious development. If you are interested in speaking with him, please call Alison Urkowitz.