An Accomplishment, Not a Doctrine Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert Rev. Suzanne M. Marsh September 27, 2015

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1 An Accomplishment, Not a Doctrine Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert Rev. Suzanne M. Marsh September 27, 2015 Lately, after all the research and reading are done for a sermon, I find myself thinking that I should do most of my sermons as 2 or 3 part series. This topic, Humanism, is a big one and I find myself wanting to say much more than I can in the time I have. In the interest of not making you all choose whether to remain in your seat as I go on and on, I have done the best I can! Humanist teachings are one of our seven Unitarian Universalist sources. According to the language we adopted at General Assembly in 1984, these teachings counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit. Humanism is a deep and wide theology, which I should note, some don t even consider a theology, including those on both sides of the religious spectrum from fundamentalist Christians to atheists. The readings that Barbara read us were two people s attempt to define it, one in more rational, scientific language and the other in language many would call religious. I consider myself a religious humanist and my working definition of what lies under the great umbrella of humanism would include the ideas that humanists neither have.. nor need any type of divine command or threat of punishment in order to behave ethically and that they neither have.. nor need anything other than the beauty of our world and the richness of those who walk this planet with us to find in their lives great meaning and purpose. Humanism teaches us to put all the experiences of our shared humanity at the center of what we worship, but to understand that we individual humans, while beloved and sacred beings, are not very significant in the continuum of all history and the scheme of the whole universe. In my life, the tenets of humanism and the principles of our Unitarian Universalist faith are inextricably woven together. Many Unitarian Universalists struggle with words, words like religion and theology and faith, especially those who were raised in religious traditions which deeply wounded them. While many argue about whether humanism is a theology or can be described as a faith, many folks who seek out UU congregations are seeking a spirituality, one that will comfort rather than wound, love rather than shame, one they can seek freely and define on their own terms. Many of those folks call themselves humanists. At least ten years ago I read the book The Spirituality of Imperfection, by Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham. I reread parts of it now and again, this paragraph always resonates with me. 1

2 What is spirituality?... Truth, wisdom, goodness, beauty, the fragrance of a rose---all resemble spirituality in that they are intangible, ineffable realities. We may know them, but we can never grasp them without hands or with our words. And yet they exist; they are. Love exists, evil exists, beauty exists, spirituality exists. They are the realities that have always been recognized as defining human existence. We do not define them, they define us. When we attempt to define spirituality, we discover not its limitations, but our own. 1 Humanism is an ancient tradition which can be traced back to early Greek thinkers such as Socrates and Aristotle, who identified human reason as far more powerful than superstition, and urged people to move away from the reliance on a magical and supernatural understandings of life and use their powers or reason instead. In 1882 Friedrich Nietzsche published his tale of the Madman who went to the town square and ran about saying: I seek god. When the others laughed and mocked him he declared: Whither is God?" he cried;.we have killed him---you and I. God is Dead. Nietzsche tells us that if God is truly dead, then the belief in god must be replaced with something. Many believe that faith in God had been replaced with faith in science. But Nietzsche, an atheist, insists that people cannot live a faith-free life. God is dead, so what must we now do to live meaningful lives? In the 1930 s and 40 s many folks discovered Nietzsche s question: with what shall we replace God? This gave rise to the movement known as religious humanism, a religious movement that emphasized the human capacity to reason; adopted the scientific method to search for truth; and promoted the right of all humans to develop to their full potential. The humanist movement sought to construct what the Rev. John Dietrich called a religion without God, shifting the focus of religious faith from divinity to humanity. Clergy and journalists, philosophers and scientists banded together, refusing to believe that human beings could not be saved and insisting that they themselves would be the instrument of that salvation. 2 Beginning in about 1916, Dietrich and another Unitarian colleague, the Rev. Curtis Reese, began preaching humanism to their congregations, which kicked off what is known as the humanist-theist controversy wherein Unitarians congregations learned of and argued about this new theology, one concerned solely with the human rather than the divine, based on rational thought and science but with ethics still firmly at its center. In 1933, a group of 34 philosophers, Unitarian ministers, and other religious liberals issued A Humanist Manifesto. This Humanist Manifesto was a statement of common belief and its ideas stand to this day as a comprehensive statement of humanist thinking. In 1 Kurtz & Ketcham 2 Paraphrased from Schulz 2

3 this Manifesto I see the forbearers of all of our principles. In large part, over the ensuing years, humanism has become the core theology of our faith, rather than the Christianity in which we are rooted. During the decades after the issuance of the Manifesto, Unitarian Universalism became largely humanist and by the time of the 1961 merger, it was the dominant theology in Unitarianism. For the last year I could find statistics, 46 percent of Unitarian Universalists reported that they regarded themselves as theologically humanist more than twice the number who identified with naturecentered spirituality, and far more than the 13 percent who called themselves theists. While the Manifesto is too long to read in its, here are some of the salient points. Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as a result of a continuous process. humanists find that the traditional dualism of mind and body must be rejected. Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values. We are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism, and the several varieties of "new thought". Religion consists of those actions, purposes, and experiences which are humanly significant The distinction between the sacred and the secular can no longer be maintained. It follows that there will be no uniquely religious emotions and attitudes of the kind hitherto associated with belief in the supernatural. Believing that religion must work increasingly for joy in living, religious humanists aim to foster the creative in man and to encourage achievements that add to the satisfactions of life. Religious humanism maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. The humanists are firmly convinced that existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself to be inadequate and that a radical change in methods, controls, and motives must be instituted. The goal of humanism is a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good. Humanists demand a shared life in a shared world. Closing: We assert that humanism will: (a) affirm life rather than deny it; (b) seek to elicit the possibilities of life, not flee from them; and (c) endeavor to establish the conditions of a satisfactory life for all, not 3

4 merely for the few. By this positive morale and intention humanism will be guided, and from this perspective and alignment the techniques and efforts of humanism will flow. There are in the Manifesto many belief statements, just as there are in our principles. It is fine to have one, or many, academic discussions about our faith and its roots, about the Humanist Manifesto and about our principles, but all of the thinking and writing does not serve to capture the essence of religious humanism or of our Unitarian Universalist faith. I, for one, don t need any more commandments! Marvin Shaw, a Unitarian Universalist professor says this: The basis of unity in Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships is not shared beliefs, but a common quest and the affirmation of the values necessary to its furtherance. Our liberal religious societies are not based on agreement as to belief, but on agreement as to method. We agree in affirming the value of a free and wide-ranging inquiry in religious belief, and we vow to establish an atmosphere in which the religious quest is nurtured and encouraged. For me, that pretty much sums it up, we value freedom and respect for one another more than we value truth, or our own version of the truth. In religious humanism we find a worldview that rejects the supernatural while finding depth and meaning in the natural and inspires us to seek out that which gives our lives meaning. It encourages us to grow our social consciences and act upon them, while defending the rights of all people to choose other ways, to speak and to write and live their lives accordingly. In a speech yesterday the Pope said this: Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. I think that humanism, indeed Unitarian Universalism is trying its best to accomplish the delicate balance that the Pope was talking about. I think that philosopher George Santayana was onto something when he said that humanism is "an accomplishment, not a doctrine." When we really live out our manifestos, our principles, our values, it truly is an accomplishment. It is really hard to do. I sometimes think it s more difficult than following the rules of the dogmantic and rigid religions. 4

5 In Humanism, in Unitarian Universalism, I find a theology that is not hardened or angry, but generous and flexible. A theology that allows me, in fact encourages me, to ask hard questions and face difficult truths. A theology that is salvific, saving many of us from living an inward facing life filled with selfish concerns. A theology that calls us all to care about and for all living beings, a theology that has at its center the radical idea that the power of the human spirit is enough, that we do not need to look any further for sources of awe, beauty, strength and compassion to see us through the shadow times of our lives. And most of all a place where, when we are at our most broken, most angry, most vulnerable we find those who will hold us in love. We Unitarian Universalists often pride ourselves on our rationality. But sometimes when we try to define and explain something that can really not be reduced to words or explanations, we steal from ourselves a chance at awe and wonder. I would like to ask you if, perhaps just sometimes, can accept that some things cannot be explained, and that does not have to mean that you believe in the supernatural, but just that you accept that some things are visceral and beyond words. Just HAVE the experience without any need for an explanation. I leave you with the words of Kathleen Rolenz:..this humanism is joyful and a little messy [in it we] step on each other's toes yet forgive generously; [it] is not smooth and practiced, but surprisingly graceful. This is a form of humanism that fosters not correct thinking, but joy in living; that encourages the creative power of every human being; that affirms life in all its expressions, that celebrates this life and this world. 3 May it Be So Sources and Inspirations Modern History Sourcebook: Nietzsche: Parable of the Madman Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham. The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning Bantam Books: New York, 1993 Kathleen Rolenz, "Saved by Humanism", a sermon. October 6, 2002 William F. Schulz. Our Humanist Legacy: Seventy years of religious humanism. UU World, 11/1/ Rolenz 5