A New Humanism

Rev. Amy Russell - 2009-12-13

When I was first introduced to Humanism in this Fellowship many years ago, I was impressed by the idea that a movement coming out of religious ideas could be based around atheism. As I learned more, I learned that Humanism was not really about not believing in God, but about believing in humanity. I learned that it honored the reason and intelligence of humankind and the advances in scientific learning that have made us more aware of our universe and the way it works. I understood that Humanists were not only about the reasoned way of thinking, but also honored the responsibility that human kind had to create a just and equitable world.

Richard Venus greatly affected my respect for Humanists in his dedication to the social justice causes of this world. He once told me that because justice was about using all of our human abilities in ways that asked us to extend ourselves beyond ourselves, that justice was his spiritual practice.

I resonated with all of this. But it still left me cold. I still could not relate to Humanism as a spiritual discipline. I think this is because in Myer’s Brigg’s code, I am an ENFJ. That means that I’m more of a feeling person than a thinking person. I am more intuitive than I am reasoned. My spiritual practice very much involves my emotions and my intuition. In understanding this about myself, I can see how the way I deal with the world through my feelings and my intuition, affects my belief system.

But recently, I picked up a book called Reason and Reverence, by William Murry, the former president of Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary. I was intrigued by the word “reverence” in his title. I wondered how a humanist would use that word together with reason. I guess I had assumed that humanism had rejected much of the ideas of reverence that I felt were so crucial in my spiritual practice.

Murray posits that Humanism has evolved over the years and for many has become a spiritual practice that has at its core the reverence for life and the miracles of the natural world. He says the humanist movement has been influenced by a new group calling themselves “humanistic religious naturalists”. As Scott told you, this new humanism is interested in spirituality, as long as it is viewed in the context of a “this-worldly, naturalistic, and non-theistic sense”.

At the heart of this new Humanism, is an appreciation for living life fully humanly, and loving others fully humanly. He says, “True spirituality is a quality of life in this world, a foundation and a center for our lives from which we can then live more meaningfully and minister more effectively to those around us.” To me, this is a spiritual practice, I can embrace. It feels warm and alive and full of emotion and reason- both-which is how I want to live. Both examining the world with the intelligence and reason I have, and embracing the awe and wonder that life fills me with. This is fully human to me. And spiritual.

While Humanist thought was born in ancient Greek philosophy, it was a movement that got its modern voice in the 1930’s when a group of humanists, many of them Unitarians, put their ideas down on paper and called it the Humanist Manifesto. This document outlines the beliefs of Humanism with these main points:
- That the universe is “self-existing” and not created
- That the world and its creatures including humans evolved over millions of years in a continuous process
- That the world is ruled by natural law, not supernatural beings
- That there is no immortal soul that continues to exist after death
- That human culture and religion is man –made

The Manifesto also contains statements declaring humanism’s belief in humanity’s responsibility to care for the whole of life, especially in the area of societal justice. It ends with this statement:
Though we consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate, the quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind. Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task.

This statement was an ambitious one and an optimistic one. Humanists following World War II, were a little more aware of the difficulties of attempting to realize the world of their dreams, and the Humanist Manifesto II, created in 1973, was a little more tempered. It recognizes the dangers that humankind face in overcoming the tendency of humans to destroy their environment and to perpetuate human oppression and destruction. These Humanists reaffirm the use of scientific principles when approaching the world, but to use them together with reason and compassion to create a world where all individuals have the opportunity for their own fulfillment.

But again the emphasis was on reason and intelligence. There was no reverent language about the wonder and mystery of the miraculous nature of life.

The humanistic religious naturalists are not afraid to use the word “spirituality”. They have opened up new vistas for humanists to create a spiritual practice that involves the fully human person using all their emotions and intuition, in addition to their reason and intelligence. Murray describes this as:
Becoming more fully human involves the transformation of the mind and heart from self-centeredness to a sense of one’s self as part of a larger sacred whole and to a deep commitment to the human and natural world.

With Humanists rejection of an afterlife, their focus is completely on how to live a life that uses all of who we are in this life, here and now. Connecting naturalism with humanism gives it a fuller sense of an appreciation of the awe and wonder of the natural world. Murray tells us for humanist religious naturalists that the “unimaginable vastness of the universe and the incredible complexity of life evoke awe and reverence greater than anything I experienced as a theist.” At the heart of this spiritual reverence is the awe of the story of the evolution of the universe.

Many of you heard Michael Dowd speak here last spring. He examines the wonders of the universe and speaks of how we can talk about our feelings of the universe with “night” language and “day” language. The night language contains reverent terms like “sacred” and “holy”. The day language uses more scientific terminology. I think the New Humanism is allowing itself to use some of this reverent night language without a belief in the supernatural. With a reverent attitude about life itself, sacred language can be reclaimed by Humanists.

Being fully human asks us to experience life in the moment, with all of its incredible highs and its difficult lows. Being fully human asks us into an awareness of the incredible wonder that each moment we experience offers us.

This kind of Humanism, aware and seeped in living fully in the present moment excites me. I guess that’s not surprising, since it sounds a lot like Buddhism. But the fact of the openness of this humanistic religious naturalism to spiritual experience opens up new doors for me to Humanism.

Doug Muder, a religious humanist, spoke to the Humanist Association of Massachusetts in 2006 in answer to this question, “Is it possible to have an authentically Humanist spiritual practice?” He relayed what we’ve often heard that humanists often respond to the idea of spirituality with a disgusted sneer because it sounds to them like self indulgent naval gazing. Spirituality sounds too inwardly focused to many humanists. Humanists are known for their bent toward saving the world from itself. Humanists are often dedicated to a human quest for a better world, not a better self.

But Muder said that he thinks many humanists hunger for more inner focus. Muder summarizes a possible spiritual practice as being centered on Connection and Liberation. He describes “connection” as the life-giving interconnectness that we all strive for in our relationships with others, with community, with the world. But he says that sometimes connection can imprison a person with suffocating rules, regulations, and creeds. That is where liberation comes in. Humanists are all about being free of societal expectations of beliefs and behaviors.

Muder examines many of the historical philosophies from which humanism gets its roots. Stocism is an ancient philosophy that asks one to live in the present moment enjoying life as it is lived, without expectation or denial. It doesn’t expect life to continue or to be better in the next moment, but to live in the present. Muder compares this to a mindfulness practice in which one appreciates the present moment, no matter what it offers. Mindfulness doesn’t describe the moment as being bad or good or created by a higher power.

Muder sees a spiritual practice for Humanists as being centered in mindfulness, with connection to self and others, and liberation of self as the guidelines for this spiritual practice.

Again, living more fully human and loving more fully human seems to be the bywords for this new Humanist movement. As Bertrand Russell says, “The good life is one guided by reason and motivated by love.”

A kid’s movie, Toy Story, that some of you may have seen with your children or grandchildren seems to contain metaphors that relate to the nature of this humanist movement.

In Toy Story, a number of toys belong to a young boy, and open the movie with demonstrating their own toy interactions. Woody is a cowboy doll who understands that while he is good looking and virtuous, that he is just a toy, nothing more. Buzz, who is a toy star ranger believes that he is actually Buzz Lightyear from Star Command with a cosmic purpose in life to save the galaxy. Woody tries to enlighten him about his “toyness”, but Buzz with great arrogance, looks down on Woody’s belief that they are just toys. Buzz says to Woody with his puffed up self importance, “You are a sad and strange little man and you have my pity.”

Through the movie the two have adventures that involve them being hijacked by a mean kid who takes them over to his house where toys are not treated well. After many scary hijinks, the two finally escape the clutches of the evil twin. During this time, however, Buzz sees a commercial on television that enlightens him to the reality of his actually being a toy made and manufactured by a toy company. He finally realizes that he is not working for a higher power with a higher purpose in the universe. He is despondent as he feels that he has lost his purpose and value in life. He despairs that nothing really matters anymore as he has lost his faith in himself and in the universe.

Woody, always believing in the worth and dignity of toys, points out to him that he really is a cool toy, and that he has worth. The toys first of all have great zest for living- Buzz especially in his intense way of flying around the room which Woody calls, “falling with style”. Woody shows Buzz that they have great worth in their own “toyness” and they have meaning in their lives in trying to help the poorly treated toys in the boy next door’s house to escape to a better life.

The theme of this movie could be seen to be one of spiritual humanism. That humans represented by the toys can find meaning in living fully human and in loving one another fully humanly. The spirituality of living intensely and appreciating one’s life in the here and now is a spiritual practice. One’s worth and meaning is completed by the practice of living compassionately.

For many, it’s the meaning that we find in our daily lives that makes life worthwhile. It’s the people who smile at us when we see them, it’s the feeling we get when we wake up and see a new fallen snow covering the woods outside our house, it’s the amazement we feel at hearing an incredible piece of music that lifts us up.

Many also find great meaning in giving to others. There is a special feeling that you get when you reach out to someone and realize that you have touched them somehow. That in something you do, you have done some little thing that might help another.

Living fully humanly, loving fully humanly. These truly are spiritual practices that are important to each of us. No matter what we believe about the nature of the universe, living in this way is something we can all agree upon.