Thursday, September 30, 2010

October Question of the Month

The burning question for October is:
WHAT IS A RELIGIOUS HUMANIST?
At first glance, this seems to be a contradiction in terms.  We all know that Humanists are not religious and religious people are not Humanists.  Or do we?  There used to be a Fellowship of Religious Humanists.  There is a book, "Religious Humanism in America: Deitrich, Reese and Potter" by Mason Olds.  What is going on here?  Are we missing something?  Please post your thoughts below and by all means come to the October meeting.

3 comments:

  1. Depends what religious or spiritual means. I personally don't know if I could be ... It may be that for some like me, it means whatever is unknown or unexplained. It doesn't necessarily mean religious.

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  2. What is a religious humanist?

    I guess that could be a humanist who has some vague spiritual leanings and/or a vague fondness for the teachings of Jesus. Such a person might be comfortable in a liberal, mainline Christian church - particularly if some nostalgia kicks in.

    But maybe a religious humanist is a humanist who has begun to think that his beliefs are so obviously true that they require no defense - nor any updating. The appeal to reason has been replaced by a kind of religious certainty.

    Steve Fowler

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  3. I would say that some "religious people" are Humanists. By that I mean, some religious folks place far more importance on trying to make a fference in this world than wondering or worrying what will happen to them in an afterlife.

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