opinion

Rowboat in the Woods: the role of Humanism in a Secular Future

This talk by Rev. David Breeden was part of the "Serving the Non-Religious" session at the 2015 UUA General Assembly in Portland, OR on Friday, June 26. David is the senior minister of the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis which has, "A heritage of forward-thinking humanism at home in the here and now". In this talk, David discusses the changing religious landscape of the FUS neighborhood, and by extension the country at large, then suggests how Unitarian Universalist congregations are going to need to adjust their programming and their thinking to thrive in the new reality.

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[A special thank you to Adam Gonnerman for creating the video version of this presentation.] Read more about Rowboat in the Woods: the role of Humanism in a Secular Future »

UUA, Why Aren't You Nurturing My Spirit?

I laughed out loud yesterday when I got to the bottom of the stairs at the Oregon Convention Center for General Assembly and I saw the giant pendulum swinging in the foyer. Pendulums come up often when I'm discussing the place of humanism in the UUA with the people who come by the UU Humanists' booth in the exhibit hall. In the past, I'm told (since I am a new Unitarian Universalist and wasn't there to see for myself) the pendulum swung toward humanism, and now I'm told (and I see for myself) that it is swinging toward theism. The slow, relentless swing of the gold ball in the foyer is mesmerizing and the force must be tremendous, but I say it's time to stop the pendulum's swing entirely. Read more about UUA, Why Aren't You Nurturing My Spirit? »

Why Are UU Humanists Overlooked?

Over breakfast this morning, my husband told me about an interesting NY Times article that I should read, "It mentions your UU Humanist organization," he added. I was skeptical, but I thought perhaps I had missed something since I had been busy all day yesterday at a memorial for a cousin and hadn't even glanced at social media. After a quick scan of my Facebook news feed, I concluded he meant this article, "Wanted: A Theology of Atheism", by Molly Worthen. After reading it, I could see why he thought that it had something to do with UU Humanism. Worthen writes, "Humanist fellowships have often imitated the practices of traditional worship. Sunday Assembly’s close relative, the Society for Ethical Culture, has featured rousing music and a lecture at Sunday meetings since 1876." When one encounters the phrase "Humanist fellowships", free association usually causes the phrase "Unitarian Universalism" to come to mind to the initiated. Read more about Why Are UU Humanists Overlooked? »

A Humanist Take on Meaning and Purpose

Have you ever felt like you go through the motions every day but it all seems meaningless? Did you know that you can use science to help you find a sense of life purpose? Wait, but science can’t answer life’s big questions – that’s the job of religion, right? Well, a wave of recent research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and other disciplines has explored how we find meaning and purpose in life, with or without belief in a deity!

I wish I knew that when I was growing up. I struggled with gaining a sense of life meaning and purpose throughout my teenage years and young adulthood. I remember experiencing the sense of meaninglessness as an emptiness deep in the pit of my stomach. Read more about A Humanist Take on Meaning and Purpose »

The Clergy Letter Project: Demonstrating the Compatibility of Religion and Science

There’s an all-too common view in the United States that religion and science are in conflict.  While this conflict takes many forms, none is more prevalent than that associated with the evolution/creation debate.  Simply put, there are some who proclaim loudly and often that one can’t be truly religious if evolution is accepted.  The basic premise of this position is that people must choose between their religion and modern science; that it is impossible to embrace both.

In fact, however, despite the volume of these claims, this position is very much at odds with what a huge majority of devout individuals understand.  In an attempt to share this message as broadly as possible, I created a grassroots organization that has grown to more than 15,000 clergy members.  This organization, The Clergy Letter Project, has three clear and simple goals: Read more about The Clergy Letter Project: Demonstrating the Compatibility of Religion and Science »

“God” as Creativity

When a distinguished scientist and an eminent theologian agree on what is meant by God we should take notice.  The scientist is complexity theorist Stuart Kauffman whose recent book is entitled Reinventing the Sacred.  Like many he has left traditional religion behind, but he wants to retain a sense of the sacred nature of life, and he finds that sacred quality in creativity.  Creativity, he suggests, is at the heart of things and in the very nature of the universe.  In fact he identifies creativity with God, suggesting that what he means by God is simply creativity.  He writes: “God is our chosen name for the ceaseless creativity in the natural universe, biosphere, and human cultures.”  He comes to this conclusion because “This creativity is stunning, awesome and worthy of reverence.” Read more about “God” as Creativity »

Coming Out as a Humanist

I am a humanist. That’s not something I always share with others, especially here in South Carolina, where the first question people generally ask upon meeting you is, “So where do you go to church?”; where people regularly talk about God as their co-pilot and Jesus as their fishing buddy; where prayer is considered a viable solution to every problem, from ending drought to finding a parking place. Publicly admitting that you are a humanist – or an atheist, agnostic, skeptic, free thinker, or any other variety of nonbeliever – anywhere in America is about as risky as burning a flag in an American Legion hall. Where I live, being a nonbeliever can get you denied a promotion and fired from your job. It can get you disowned by your family and deserted by your friends. It can get your house or car vandalized, and it can get you physically harmed. Prejudice against nonbelievers may be the last socially acceptable bigotry.  Read more about Coming Out as a Humanist »

The Story Telling Animal

Walt Whitman sang The Body Electric. Let us sing The Mind Electric for its soaring imagination. Nothing distinguishes our species more than our creative capacity and need for story telling. Stories can be grounded in fact and history or wildly fantastical. Both avenues define our culture, our selves, and our species. They are tools for passing down learning and expressing our hopes, desires, needs and are the major source of entertainment. For millennia, they were told person to person, or person to persons, especially around campfires and hearths in the evening. The invention of writing not only aided their spread but also their saving. In the modern world, story telling is the staple of radio, movies, television, and the internet. Read more about The Story Telling Animal »

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