{"id":2890,"date":"2018-11-25T21:44:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T02:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/soapboxredemption\/?p=2890"},"modified":"2018-11-25T21:44:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T02:44:19","slug":"humanism-past-present-and-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/soapboxredemption\/2018\/11\/humanism-past-present-and-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanism: Past, Present, and Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Earlier this year I wrote about MLK Jr on a Christian humanism<\/a> which inspired me to do this follow up post on the past, present, and future of humanism. MLK Jr\u2019s call, in \u201cLetters from a Birmingham Jail\u201d, was to the Church, but specifically church leadership, in turning a blind eye to racial segregation and failing to take\u00a0non-violent action.\u00a0<\/em>It was his view that this was the ultimate failure of actualizing the call of the Teacher; that a Christianity without a Christ-inspired humanism is simply not Christianity at all. In his words:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: \u2018Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.\u2019 And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These sentiments, and MLK\u2019s mission in general, exemplify the idea of Christian humanism that I specifically strive for. With my and Adam\u2019s Meta<\/em> project<\/a> and subsequent big question events<\/a> which rally around ending human trafficking<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u201cChristian humanist\u201d has been my calling card, while \u201csecular humanist\u201d has been Adam\u2019s. At our events, these terms have peaked curiosity. Though I hate labels, I find these dead on, and\u00a0they have actually prompted some interesting discussion, both\u00a0on our respective views and aim of our project in general. How does one actually define humanism? What is secular humanism? Can one even be a \u201cChristian humanist\u201d?<\/p>\n

The term humanism actually bears quite a bit of history, and perhaps some controversy, on the present and future rights to the nomenclature.\u00a0Though often associated with naturalism and secular humanism <\/em>(not all naturalists are secular humanists),\u00a0<\/em>the term humanism was actually coined in 1808 by theologian Friedrich Niethammer (from his book\u00a0The Dispute between Philanthropinism and Humanism in the Theory of Educational Instruction of Our Time<\/em>)\u00a0with his insistence on a balance of both\u00a0classical education\/humanities (hence \u201chumanism\u201d) with practical and physical education. His theory of an ideal education was a middle ground between the Catholic traditionalists and the \u201cPhilanthropinists\u201d (who wanted to discard classical and religious education for practicality and self-discovery). His \u201chumanism\u201d would combine the best of both worlds in a holistic enterprise of self-discovery with an appreciation of classical education which would optimize intellectual and moral development. [1]<\/p>\n

As time progressed, the term has taken\u00a0much more specific ir\/religious, philosophical, and ethical connotations. In 1933, the publication of the \u201cHumanist Manifesto\u201d<\/a> advanced the term, and the movement, in much more specific ways. A self-described endeavor of\u00a0\u201creligious humanism\u201d, the\u00a0theses represented the shared affirmations of\u00a034 liberal theologians and philosophers who strove to update the word \u201creligion\u201d to the shared values of humanity and\u00a0use of reason and science to achieve those ends. The old religion represented \u201cdoctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century\u201d. Nevertheless, through the changing tides of religion over time,\u00a0the defining characteristic and\u00a0meta-narrative of \u201creligion itself remains constant in its quest for abiding values, an inseparable feature of human life.\u201d The present day, with \u201cman\u2019s larger understanding of the universe, his scientific achievements, and deeper appreciation of brotherhood, have created a situation which requires a new statement of the means and purposes of religion.\u201d Their religion would be this much needed update to the term \u2013 an\u00a0ethical striving for the betterment of humanity using a philosophical and scientific epistemology.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to today, and the subsequent updates through\u00a0Humanist Manifesto III\u00a0in 2003<\/a>, humanism is often understood as secular and the \u201creligious\u201d prefix is contested. As Fred Edwords points out in \u201cWhat is Humanism?\u201d<\/a>, \u201creligious humanism\u201d has \u201clargely emerged out of Ethical Culture, Unitarianism, and Universalism\u201d. Secular humanists maintain humanism\u00a0is not religious; religious humanists maintain that it is. The definition of religion, Edwords contends, separates the two. Religious humanists, definitively not \u201creligious\u201d in the traditional sense and may not be theistic in any sense, still see\u00a0this functional way of life \u2013 communal, ceremonial, ethical upbringing only realized in\u00a0a religious structure (as they so defined religion), hence they are bullish with the term \u201creligious humanism\u201d. [2]<\/p>\n

As for the future, philosopher John Shook nicely summarizes\u00a0humanism\u00a0as the belief which \u201cemphasizes our moral responsibilities in this life and applies human intelligence for forming ethical lives.\u201d He also puts forward three varieties of humanism: Christian, religious, and secular which share in their practical aim but differ in their grounding,<\/p>\n

\u201cChristian humanism credits God for morality, for our right to take ethical responsibility, and for our possession of reason. Religious humanism puts our ethical responsibilities first, and then asks intelligence to judge religion\/spirituality for its potential guidance. Secular humanism judges everything religious\/spiritual as worthless and starts over from just reason.\u201d\u00a0[3]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I appreciate these definitions and distinctions as it opens up a fun philosophical deep dive into the background metaphysics and metaethics (certainly present in my and Adam\u2019s project).\u00a0Still, the practical ethic, the primacy of reason, equality, and moral responsibility, is what unites all humanists (at the forefront of my and Adam\u2019s project).\u00a0As to the future of humanism, and which one will go the distance, I also appreciate Shook\u2019s perspective:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBy humanism\u2019s own standard, we await to see which variety of humanism continues to make the greatest practical difference to the welfare of all life. Our ability to sustain life on this planet is now under serious question. One genetic strain of humanism might not be enough. Humanism may need all its varieties to provide a positive answer.\u201d [4]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0To that I say Amen. The type of humanism<\/em> is just the background metaphysics of which the bar of humanism<\/em> has no concern. How we will unite, our use of reason and science, and our ethical urgency to change the world for all of humanity is the ultimate measure. Like at MLK Jr\u2019s protests, there were those of all creeds present marching against injustice. And like MLK and humanists before him, whether Christian, religious, or secular, the call of humanism forever beckons. And all humanists, as I penned\u00a0in my last lines in Meta<\/em>, can unite\u00a0to fight against injustices like poverty and human trafficking. We can debate on the metaphysics (and the definition of religion) on the car ride over.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[1] Cook, Bill. \u201cHappy Birthday Humanism.\u201d New Humanist<\/em>, March 4, 2008.\u00a0http:\/\/newhumanist.org\/uk\/articles\/1740\/happybirthdayhumanism (accessed November 25, 2018).<\/p>\n

[2] Edwords, Fred. \u201cWhat is Humanism?\u201d American Humanist Association, 2008.\u00a0https:\/\/americanhumanist.org\/what-is-humanism\/edwords-what-is-humanism\/ (accessed November 25, 2018).<\/p>\n

[3] Shook, John.\u00a0\u201cChristian Humanism, Religious Humanism, and Secular Humanism.\u201d Center For Inquiry<\/em>, December 8, 2009. http:\/\/centerforinquiry.org\/blog\/christian_humanism_religious_humanism_and_secular_humanism\/ (accessed November 25, 2018).<\/p>\n

[4] Ibid.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year I wrote about MLK Jr on a Christian humanism which inspired me to do this follow up post on the past, present, and future of humanism. MLK Jr\u2019s call, in \u201cLetters from a Birmingham Jail\u201d, was to the Church, but specifically church leadership, in turning a blind eye to racial segregation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1687,"featured_media":2955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musings"],"yoast_head":"\nHumanism: Past, Present, and Future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Earlier this year I wrote about MLK Jr on a Christian humanism which inspired me to do this follow up post on the past, present, and future of humanism.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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