Where are humanists when it hurts?

Last updated on: January 3, 2013 at 9:00 am by Jason Morehead

Where are humanists when it hurts? 2013-01-02T19:16:35-07:00 Jason Morehead

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Writing for the New York Times, Samuel G. Freedman is asking how humanists can and should respond to tragedies like the recent school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

The funerals and burials over the past two weeks have taken place in Catholic, Congregational, Mormon and United Methodist houses of worship, among others. They have been held in Protestant megachurches and in a Jewish cemetery. A black Christian youth group traveled from Alabama to perform “Amazing Grace” at several of the services.

This illustration of religious belief in action, of faith expressed in extremis, an example at once so heart-rending and so affirming, has left behind one prickly question: Where were the humanists? At a time when the percentage of Americans without religious affiliation is growing rapidly, why did the “nones,” as they are colloquially known, seem so absent?

To raise these queries is not to play gotcha, or to be judgmental in a dire time. In fact, some leaders within the humanist movement — an umbrella term for those who call themselves atheists, agnostics, secularists and freethinkers, among other terms — are ruefully and self-critically saying the same thing themselves.

Freedman notes that none of the families affected by the shooting chose non-religious ceremonies, so of course, there wouldn’t have been any humanist funerals this time around. But the larger question, of how groups such as the American Humanist Association can provide aid and comfort (beyond fundraisers, that is) to communities affected by tragedies, remains.

According to Greg Epstein, Harvard’s humanist chaplain, what people need following an event like the Newtown shooting is community, and that is something that religion is very good at providing. For example, Christian churches, with their emphasis on communal worship, come with their own built-in support networks — and not just for their own members, but for the surrounding community. And this sense of community’s importance is deeply embedded in the Christian faith, from its belief in the community of the Holy Trinity to the Bible’s many references to living and worshiping in community.

Part of the problem, according to various humanists themselves, is the individualistic nature of humanism itself. Or, as Freedman puts it, “[I]n the view of internal critics… humanism suffers in certain ways for its valorization of the individual. The inside joke is that creating a humanist group is like ‘herding cats.'” This dilemma is exacerbated by recent studies showing increasing numbers of people (aka, the “nones”) disavowing any sort of affiliation with organized religion. But leaving organized religion means leaving the organization behind as well, and that organization allows churches and their members to be very good at mobilizing.

So what’s the solution? Secular therapist Darrel W. Ray maintains that humanism needs to “get out of this mentality we’ve been in over the past 50 years of just saying how stupid religion is. We have to create our own infrastructure.” Additionally, Epstein says that humanism needs to move beyond merely celebrating reason over faith, and instead, needs to use reason as a means to display greater compassion for those who are suffering.

Previous Post

January 3, 2013

Movieguide: Rejecting God Leads to Murder by "Soulless Meat Machines"

Next Post

January 3, 2013 Overweight People Live Longer? The Enduring Challenge of Self-Esteem Problems

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz