I’m very excited to talk about Humanism. My sermon title is “What It Means to Be Human.” Here are some one-liners to help us begin to gain a proper perspective on the human condition.
1. Why can’t you explain puns to kleptomaniacs? They always take things literally.
2. They all laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian. Well, they’re not laughing now!
3. No one is completely useless. One can always serve as a bad example.
4. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.
5. What’s the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? One is really heavy, and the other is a little lighter.
6. And God said to John, “Come forth and you shall be granted eternal life.” But John came fifth and won a toaster.
7. “I stand corrected!” said the man in the orthopedic shoes.
8. Will glass coffins be a success? Remains to be seen.
9. I used to be addicted to soap, but I’m clean now.
10. What’s Forrest Gump’s email password? 1Forrest1.
11. I was wondering why the ball was getting bigger; then it hit me.
12. Do you want to hear a construction joke? Sorry, I’m still working on it.
13. Though I enjoy the sport, I could never date a tennis player. Love means nothing to them.
These jokes should suggest to you that I won’t be presenting “the” truth on this subject. Feel free to doubt and question anything I say. This invitation to critical thought and disclaimer against absolute truth is my first example of the influence of humanism on our religious tradition.
All we do here is promote faith development. All we teach is Unitarian Universalism, and the congregation is the curriculum. Our reflection on religious humanism will be no exception.
If you are new to UU congregational life, you may love it without realizing that what’s going here is the continuation, sharing, and advancement of a faith tradition. Perhaps my sermon today will present a perfectly clear picture of our UU tradition and how religious humanism fits in. If not, there is always next week.
And this is a second example of humanism in our religion: our religious tradition doesn’t claim to present the absolute and final truth. Theologian James Luther Adams expressed as one of the essential aspects of liberal religion a belief that revelation is continuous. If we seek further revelation of truth, life will give it to us.
If you have been attending UU services for decades and think that UUS “get it”; if you think you’ve got this UU thing, this Life thing, the salvation thing, the enlightenment thing; if you have it all figured out and can’t imagine how practicing our religion could transform you, well, that certainly does not match my sense of what it means to practice our faith.
Humanism and UU tradition are built upon some fundamental beliefs and attitudes about human beings and the human condition. Simply stated, humanism is the belief that human learning and progress are possible. There was a time when Unitarians and Universalists proclaimed that human progress was inevitable. “Onward and upward forever!” was our cry. WWII, nuclear war, widespread cruelty and suffering have led many of us to a more modest proclamation that progress remains possible. However, optimism and reason for hope remain as central characteristics of liberal religion.
I think we can understand this tempering of optimism! Many of us have found it hard not to give in to cynicism and despair. Global warming, climate chaos, mass species extinction, greed and oppression continue to prevent the human cooperation needed for us to address growing calamities. So yeah, it’s taken effort to retain optimism. We might wonder if we are destined to be the guy in the joke who wonders why the ball is getting bigger until it hits him. Not giving up, not giving in to cynicism, hatred and despair, choosing to find reasons to believe in possibilities for human progress – these take courage.
For many, humanity’s problems seem too great, and cosmic divine intervention seems the only hope. Religious humanism does not deny the possibility of divine inspiration. It doesn’t say that the idea of God is foolish. It doesn’t say that prayer is a waste of time. It says that thoughts and prayers are not enough. James Luther Adams wrote of this as another aspect of liberal religion, the belief in the necessity of human effort for good to be incarnated in our world. He wrote “We deny the immaculate conception of virtue and affirm the necessity of social incarnation.”
Religious Humanism warns against waiting for divine intervention. It directs us to invest our resources into efforts that meet human needs. We incarnate goodness by creating and sustaining organizations and institutions that address injustices, inequities, and the crises of our times.
Those only superficially aware of UU tradition claim that UUs can believe whatever they want. Well, everyone in the world can believe whatever they want. When we open our mouths to share our beliefs, conflict may ensue. Similarly, our actions may manifest conflict when they don’t conform to norms and laws. Liberal religion values nonconformity that grows from integrity!
Our tradition has no creedal test for membership. However, we place at least as much emphasis on beliefs as any other tradition. We examine our beliefs, our attitudes and behaviors, and the impact these have upon ourselves and others.
Perhaps what distinguishes our religious approach is our lack of doctrine and our rejection of coercion and punishment as means of promoting spirituality, consciousness, ethics, morality, and personal and social responsibility. We promote these by acceptance of one another, the celebration of diversity…and, this is the part that gets left out…the willingness to dialogue when our preferences and world views seem to be in conflict with those held by others. Friction signals us to an opportunity for learning, spiritual growth, and advancement of faith.
Connecting with like-minded individuals to amplify shared values is a fun way to grow spiritually. Sometimes an even more effective way to grow is to approach friction, awkwardness, discomfort or conflict with a willingness to learn and change.
A sometimes more powerful path to growth occurs when we resist the temptation to morally judge and condemn others whom we perceive as different. We grow spiritually when we become willing to do the hard work of listening, negotiating, and seeking ways to bring fulfillment to all parties, across differences.
Sometimes the more powerful path to growth requires us to resist the temptation to morally judge and condemn others whom we perceive as different. When we become willing to do the hard work of listening, negotiating, and seeking ways to bring fulfillment to all parties, across differences we will likely be transformed.
Rogers believed that healing and wellness were promoted by listening, by unconditional positive regard, by establishing relationships and by honest communication.
These principles of Roger’s client-centered humanistic psychology can be seen at work in UU religious life. Our UU tradition was built on an awareness that faith cannot be created or developed by force, punishment, or coercion. Through voluntary participation, a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, with an emphasis on justice, equity and compassion, members of UU congregations find support and encouragement to become honest about the places where we have difficulty living up to our values.
The humanistic approach of our faith tradition follows from our positive regard for nature, humanity, and divinity. Our UU ancestors rejected the doctrine of original sin. Religious humanists and liberals emphasize that humans are born with the capacity to do good. We tend to see evil (greed, selfishness, etc.) as a factor of malfunction, trauma, or oppression.
Some religious traditions have promoted the idea that humans are inherently sinful, tending towards being rebellious against the guidance of God and disobedient to God’s laws. Some of these have taught that humans are deserving of eternal damnation, that sacrificial atonement for our sinfulness was needed and was provided by Jesus. These Christians suggest that Jesus was willing to pay this price for us, and that acceptance of this gift is the only way of avoiding God’s eternal punishment.
Unitarians and Universalists rejected these interpretations of Christianity. Unitarians emphasized Jesus’s humanity and the worth of humanity. Universalists emphasized God’s love as attractive and powerful enough to bring about healing and reconciliation for all people.
Religious humanism states that judgments, beliefs, and values are created and generated by human beings. This doesn’t deny natural law or phenomena of cause and effect. It doesn’t deny that certain aspects of life might be inherently harmful or helpful. It simply states that human beings are the ones who perceive and deem things good or bad, valuable or worthless.
Because of the religious humanism of UU tradition and our assertion of the goodness of Nature, human beings are seen as good, inherently worthy, and completely connected with the vast interdependent web of existence. Our desire for fulfilment was given to us by nature, life, evolution, and/or God. The pursuit of happiness is held as an inalienable right. Human creations, including art, literature, science, and systems that fulfill human need, are all worthy of celebration. So too, is human recognition of inconsistency and the flaws in the current structures used to organize ourselves and our world. Our tradition aims to nurture souls to help heal the world.
The influence of religious humanism in our denomination grew out of the Enlightenment and its emphasis on reason and scientific methodology. Religious humanism rejects superstition along with supernatural explanations for human experience. It certainly holds that belief in “the supernatural” is not required for human virtue, and that at times, belief in the supernatural acts as an impediment to human learning, freedom, progress and fulfillment.
Unitarian Universalism can be a force for enlightenment through advancing awareness of our interdependence and supporting rejection of tyrannies and oppression, which are created by domination and held in place through prohibition of questioning authority or doctrine. Doubt, critical thinking, and advancement of thought into new realms of inquiry are welcomed and encouraged in our religious approach.
For humanism to be religious, it requires acknowledgment, if not positive regard or awe, for mystery as a core piece of human experience. It requires humility, and acknowledgment of the limitations of human knowledge, reason, and science to bring about lasting fulfillment.
Religious humanism addresses the human desire to transcend the limitations of individual perception, the flawed tendency to see and understand things from a single perspective. It acknowledges the potential fulfilment in amplifying an awareness of our connection and developing an identification that transcends individuality.
Like every other great system that influences UU tradition, humanism is not immune from inconsistencies and shortcomings. When I was in seminary, a Buddhist friend told me he thought UUs were the most dogmatic people he knew. I was shocked! We don’t have dogma! How can we be dogmatic?!
Humanism, faith in reason and science, is subject to corruption by the influences of capitalism and materialism. Some who identify as humanists display extreme anti-religious sentiment. They are contemptuous and dismissive of religion. Prejudice has kept many of us from seeing religion’s strengths and power to do good, to enable peace, wisdom, and fulfillment.
I do not see these prejudices or judgments as flaws of humanism. I see them as human flaws that have kept people from realizing and demonstrating the full potential of religious humanism. I see these flaws as the harmful effects of a reductionist materialism that results in believing that humans can be understood as matter, seen as objects and commodities.
What does it mean to be human? Is being human a curse? a blessing? Or something else?
The word “human” is often preceded by the word “only”, the emphasis being that humans are flawed and imperfect. The word “imperfect” means incomplete, not finished. I believe that it is also true that in some way we are already whole and complete.
And it’s useful to consider being human as meaning, “being in process”. I once read of an indigenous teaching that we have forgotten or not yet learned how to be human, that we had not yet merited a claim of humanity.
Religious humanism celebrates the potential for healing, learning, development of character, fulfillment and actualization. We are part of the process of life, and our development is part of nature. In the meantime, there is much to grieve about the human condition. Perhaps we need a place that helps us learn to mourn as well as celebrate being human, and that encourages us to achieve true humankind.
Make it so!
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