Religion without a church? Humanism almost qualifies

[cbayer]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/12/religion-humanism-atheism

Organised humanism has unified beliefs and practices – and the world’s most sentimental hymn: John Lennon’s Imagine

Andrew Brown
theguardian.com, Tuesday 12 August 2014 08.00 BST


'Gululai Ismail has set up networks to spread ideas of human rights and peace in some of the most lawless and dangerous parts of Pakistan.' Photograph: Martin Godwin

The World Humanist Conference in Oxford at the weekend struck me as a completely religious gathering, even though it is predicated on atheism. If it hadn’t been for the words of the sermons, we might have been at any Protestant missionary society.

Part of this was the architecture. The old parts of Oxford University date from the time when there was no clear distinction between religion and society, and most of them now have a faintly sacerdotal air. Part of it was the people: lots of beards, formidable middle-aged women and younger gay men. Everyone was united and sharing in a sense of relief at being in a safe space where what was important to them was no longer strange or dangerous. But there was much more than that. We heard un-sermons, listened to choirs singing un-hymns, and applauded un-mission partners whose heroism and suffering were an inspiration to those of us in comfortable England.

This isn’t entirely flippant. The heroism and the suffering were entirely real, and so was the inspiration drawn from them. There are many parts of the world where secularists and atheists are persecuted – even to the point of death – quite as much as members of the wrong religion are. I talked to one man, from a Middle Eastern country that is widely regarded as on our side, who said in an entirely matter of fact way that if he were quoted by name he would be signing his death warrant.

I talked, too, to half the atheist population of Gambia – a cheerful former communist who reckoned that all but one of the other humanists in his group were secret believers who just signed up for humanism because they thought science was cool. More seriously, there was an anguished NGO worker from Nigeria who dared not talk about his beliefs because he thought that this would damage the credibility and effectiveness of the agency he worked for.

more at link

[MADem]

1. Would you like to be ordained? The Spiritual Humanists are making that available!

http://www.spiritualhumanism.org/

You can become an ordained member of the Spiritual Humanist clergy for FREE right now! As a legally ordained clergy member you can legally perform religious ceremonies and rituals like weddings, funerals, benedictions, etc.

As Spiritual Humanists we believe that every person has innate right to make a spiritual connection to the rest of the cosmos. We facilitate this through our free online ordination program. Our premise is simple:

We can solve the problems of society using a religion based on reason.

We cannot abandon ancient traditions and practices but we can adapt them to our new understanding of the universe. Religion must be able to adapt to new knowledge about the universe without rejecting the deep spiritual connections to human history and the natural world that we are a part of.

All humans have an inalienable right and duty to practice their own religious traditions. Spiritual Humanism allows everyone to fuse their individual religious practices onto the foundation of scientific humanist inquiry. We accept people from any religious background and recognize the validity of all peaceful religious practices and behaviors as being helpful and necessary in developing the spiritual nature of humanity......

[cbayer]

2. No thank you!

But I think that is a positive move. I know there is a lot of resistance to making atheism into a religion, but there is also a good argument for giving humanists and other non-theists equal standing.

[djean111]

3. "I know there is a lot of resistance to making atheism into a religion"

That's because the very idea is bizarre, and an attempt to fold atheism into religion.
Just my opinion, but I see attempts to do that as vague proselytizing.

"Equal standing?" You mean you believe humanists and other non-theists think of themselves as lesser? Really?
Equal standing for tax breaks?

[cbayer]

4. It's a really slippery slope, I realize that.

But the language generally associated with religion is now being used to describe various aspects of organized atheism.

We will need a new nomenclature if we want to make a clear distinction.

I don't think it is an attempt to fold atheism into religion, but to recognize that certain aspects of organized non-belief are similar in some ways to organized belief.

I can't see how that is anything like proselytizing. Perhaps you could expand.

At any rate, some organizations have filed suits asking for "equal standing". And some courts have said that as organizations they are entitled to the same things as religious organizations, including the parsonage exemption.

I don't think of humanists and other non-theists think of themselves as lesser at all. Not sure where you would get that idea.

[safeinOhio]

5. Here is one you might look into.

Welcome to Ethical Culture
The New York Society for Ethical Culture is a welcoming home for humanists. We've provided non-theistic services in a congregational setting since 1876. We embrace the diversity of our city and invite all to join us in celebrating life’s joys, supporting one another through life’s crises, and working together to make the world a better place.
Learn more about us in The Meeting House video .
http://www.nysec.org

I think one may put humans and science before god or gods without being anti religious, that is for me, not looking for an argument with religious communities. I like the term of "embrace the diversity" and "celebrating life’s joys" with out looking for a battle with theist.

[cbayer]

6. Another example of a group using religious language to describe

their activities.

Most humanists I have met and talked to are not at all anti-religious, they just aren't religious themselves. There are, however, some notable exceptions to this, and that's unfortunate.

I'm totally with you on embracing diversity and celebrating life's joys. In the end, we are all cut from the same cloth and there is no reason to battle theists or atheists just for their belief or lack thereof.