Are We Humanists With Accessories?
by Dave Beato
Northern Hills Fellowship
July 30, 2000

Unitarian-Universalists have been described as "Those are the people who don't believe in anything!" You've heard this from your relatives and neighbors, your kids hear it on the playground, and most likely that's what the TV and radio evangelists assume when they disparingly refer to us as "secular humanists." Actually, there are "secular humanists" and there are "religious humanists." Secular humanists say religious humanists "Haven't quite gotten out of the shell." Religious humanists call secular humanists "unchurched Unitarians."

It's true that most of us are here because we could no longer swallow some or many of the beliefs we were being spoon-fed in some other religious institution. We could no longer believe that the Communion turned into the actual body and blood of Christ, for example, or that the American Indians are descended from the Twelve lost tribes of Israel, or that we cannot take blood transfusions because the Bible forbids us to "drink blood," or that our fate was predestined, or that God really didn't want to be worshipped on Sundays. These were all beliefs, the concepts over which we've been warring with one another for centuries. I think "Belief" is something you accept until the facts or Truth or knowledge take root through the process of experience and reasoning.

Collectively, there's a lot Unitarian-Universalists don't believe. On the other hand, the concepts we really do believe are so generally acceptable that members of other churches can't even snicker at them. We have strong beliefs in democracy, for example, and equality, and freedom, and saving the environment. As individuals, we believe---we have faith in---a lot that appears to be true, such as what we see on your nametag, or hear on the news, or read in a reliable newspaper or magazine. We haven't got time in this life to challenge and try to disprove everything that comes to the attention of our senses. Full-time Doubting Thomases can be a real pain in the neck.

When it comes to religious or philosophical beliefs, however, UUs have often been described as Humanists. I believe the last survey of this congregation had the largest category (about 30% of us) feeling comfortable with the Humanist label. Other labels included Deists, who believe God created the universe and had very little to do with it after that; Theists, who believe God created us and remains concerned with every little detail; and myriad other classifications such as Christian UUs, Pagans, Mystics, etc.

When I officially joined my first UU church 40 years ago, I still considered myself a well-behaved though not theologically encumbered Christian. Christians were such nice people. As I took deeper root in this denomination and drifted further and further from commonly-accepted Christian beliefs, I began to look upon Christians as being rather smug and militant, and knowing all the answers. A few years ago, I was a bit dismayed to realize that, as a UU of Humanist persuasion, I, too, had become smug and militant, and knew all the answers. Worse yet, it felt good.

So what are Humanists? I have a feeling that most of us in this denomination are really Humanists with accessories. Just like a handbag that matches your shoes, or the sun roof and stereo system you ordered on your new car, some of us get warm fuzzies over meditation, or lighting candles, or chanting, or prayer, or contemplating a sunrise. This is fine. It's a form of worship or immersion that feels good and meaningful. Your belief works with you. It may not work with me, but that doesn't decrease its real value to you. However, under all the various labels we wear in this church, I really suspect that we're all Humanists at heart. The attitudes, outlooks, and, forgive me, basic beliefs we all share in this church may be essentially Humanistic. Let's explore the basic principles of Humanism that I have more or less lifted from an interesting little booklet titled, Humanism As the Next Step by Lloyd and Mary Morain, published by the Humanist Press.

1. Humanists think for themselves. They ask questions, they do not accept a doctrine just because it's handed to them by an established church, or a prophet, or an expert in theology. I really think religion got its start when one Cro-Magnon settled an argument with another Cro-Magnon by saying, "The Great Spirit told me I was right!" The other Cro-Magnon, not having heard a peep from the Great Spirit, demurred; and God has been advising great and powerful spiritual leaders ever since. Or has She?
2. Humanists base their decisions upon reason. You can believe anything if you've a mind to. I could believe the moon is made of green cheese because my minister said so, or because it came to me in a dream, or because everybody else is blind to the truth. This is still an opinion, not a fact. I would rather base my opinions on the knowledge astronauts, astronomers, geologists, and physicists have accumulated on what appears to be the real structure of the moon. So far, nobody has proved otherwise. Reason, based upon the evidence of our senses and our accumulated knowledge, is our most reliable guide for understanding the world and making our choices.
3. Humanists base their concept of the world on what they can perceive with their own senses or comprehend in their own minds. Truth should make sense to everyone. It should be evident. I can't accept somebody else's vision or intuition as fact. David Koresh of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, said he was a conduit for God's word. Yeah, right. Nobody asked, "If I don't hear it, how come you hear it?" His followers placed their faith in his opinion, and any of them who questioned his authenticity probably left his flock before it made the headlines.
4. Although Humanists are firm on what constitutes knowledge and fact, they are open to all sources of ideas. They don't disparage ideas that spring from intuition, emotion, or religious experience; but testing these ideas against reality is the only way to validate them as knowledge. Your inspiration may come in a dream, and it may result in a great invention; but there's no real proof that God provided you with the specifications.
5. We realize that human knowledge is not perfect. Humanists see civilization as a work in process. Moral choices and social policies are based on human experiences, not scientific laws, so they are constantly subject to revisions and updating as to what really works best in the long run. We are making improvements on how women, minorities, gays, and the disadvantaged are treated, and we're not done yet. I'm not aware that these requirements for fair play were ever chiseled on the stone tablets now being urged on high schools to deter students from taking a gun to class, coveting his neighbor's ox, or creating graven images.
6. Humanists maintain that human values make sense only in the context of human life. A non-human, eternal, spiritual (and, we might add, monotonous) life after death to a Humanist would be a concept that cannot be used to dictate our values in life today. The world here-and-now is the world relevant for our ethical concerns, our goals, and our happiness. With no physical, scientific, or intellectual proof of a form of existence after death, Humanists prefer to concern themselves with making life here better today.
7. Humanists base their ethical decisions and ideals upon human needs and concerns rather than the imagined needs and concerns of a deity. What foods we eat, what we wear, when we worship, are often based upon what God presumably told our ancient prophets in person. The major religions supposedly all worship the same God, yet God told the Muslims to worship him on Friday and not drink alcohol; the Jews were allowed to drink wine, but they were to worship on Saturday and avoid pork; and the Christians were allowed to eat pork, but they had to worship on Sunday. God then said that anyone disobeying his orders was an infidel and could be persecuted unto death. What a divinely warped sense of humor!
8. Humanists practice ethics in a living environment, rather than a Utopia. The Amish, the Hassidim, and the Mujahedin do not allow themselves that option. In general, Fundamentalists of any faith have a talent for making life miserable for the rest of us who aren't particularly convinced that one God-determined lifestyle is the only true way to find peace and harmony.

Those are the basic principals of Humanism. Have you found any of them unacceptable or at odds with Unitarian-Universalism? Ethics, reason, simplicity, reality, and morality— this is religion without the historic baggage of how the world was created, or miracles, or saints, or demons, or rewards or punishment in an afterlife. If you choose to believe more than this, if it makes sense and works for you, then nurture your beliefs and find comfort in them. They may not be required reading for the rest of us, but as long as we respect one another's religious embellishments, we should be able to enjoy each other's company. This is the diversity we strive for.

What else is there about these darned Humanists? Here's what they think about how we fit into the major scheme of things.

1. Our planet revolves around a medium-sized star located near the edge of an average-sized galaxy in a group with 19 other galaxies in a universe that contains perhaps one hundred billion galaxies. The earth has been around 10,000 times longer than Homo sapiens has, and the universe is at least three times the age of the earth. It seems logical to conclude that human beings are the only organisms in the entire universe concerned about our particular well-being and future on this lonely little planet. In fact, we're the only life form that can be expected to do anything about it. Or die trying.
2. Human beings are neither entirely unique from other forms of life, nor are they the final product of some planned scheme of development. "We are the finest handiwork of God" has become a little presumptuous and outdated. I suspect that if God really created humankind, He or She, in view of our subsequent impact on the environment, may well have muttered, "Oops!"
3. There is no compelling evidence at this time to justify the belief that the human mind is distinct and separable from the human brain. Everything we know about the human body indicates that every part of it — the brain included — is subject to physical disease, injury, and death. To me, there are insufficient grounds for belief in a "soul" or some other form of existence after death. The Medieval Church promised Heaven in an afterlife to everyone who obeyed the church, for it is evident that life for common people at that time was brief, harsh, and hopeless. Belief in an afterlife is for people who can't bear the thought of getting off the merry-go-round when the ride stops. As one of us who has far more living to look back on than living to look forward to, I believe the light goes off and the show's over. If there were an afterlife, I would be in for a shock, but I'd be in the company of many Humanists. As for ghosts, out-of-body experiences, and actual faith healings, I find the reports sincere, interesting, and unexplainable. But I can live with those mysteries until some scientists come up with logical answers.
4. Our values are based upon our needs, interests, and desires, which often relate to the survival of our species, rather than rules of conduct dictated by God. As humans, we can relate with people who are "different" when we identify our common needs, interests, and desires and work towards building common agreement on values. As of now, human ethics, laws, social systems, and religions still make up part of the ongoing trial-and-error efforts we make to get along with one another while sharing this increasingly-crowded planet.
5. When people are able to constructively pursue their own interests and goals, to think and speak for themselves, to develop their talents, and to operate a social system that promotes freedom, then beneficial discoveries bloom and humanity in general moves toward greater understanding, better laws, better institutions, peace, and prosperity. This is the secret weapon behind introducing free trade to the people of China and Cuba.

Humanists are not necessarily atheists. I can be awed by the grandeur of nature, the miracle of life itself, and the sea of activity and progress that surrounds us. Is some creative being behind all of this? Maybe a creative force? I don't know. It may be that living organisms evolve and improve by repeating whatever feels good and avoiding whatever feels bad. Maybe each species has a collective yearning to improve its skills and its offspring. I'm not diligent enough to find a reliable answer, but I'm content to live with profound appreciation. I certainly don't feel that any creative force is aware of my presence, although I am impressed with its accomplishments.

What about God's master plan of peace and plenty with the lion lying down with the lamb, etc.? Most life forms survive by destroying other life forms, or at least helping themselves to the remains of life forms already destroyed by still other life forms. Some vegetation gets along fine with only minerals, air, and water; but our best topsoil is composed of decayed organic matter, so most living things depend on other things dying. Primitive life consists of taking what you need — often away from others. A civilized society, on the other hand, is created when consideration for the group takes precedence over individual wants. Ants work for the good of the colony, wolves cooperate in a pack, and people get along much more peacefully and harmoniously when they make an effort to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. This behavior is not God's will, it's common sense.

Humanism is hopeful. It's dedicated to making life better for everybody. It's optimistic about the future of humankind. It doesn't spend a lot of time attacking other well-meaning philosophies or religions. It strives for unity. I think Humanism is the main feature of our Unitarian-Universalist approach to religion that makes us different from all our neighboring congregations — the Methodists, the Baptists, our cousins in the United Church of Christ, the Jews, and the Roman Catholics — residing from one end of Fleming Road to the other. I think Humanism gets soft-pedaled when we try to appear as churchy and well-behaved as other denominations by emphasizing our spirituality and respect for ritual. Am I only imagining that since we've begun to look more like Methodists our membership and attendance have fallen off? Have we dulled the cutting edge that serves as the conscience of the community? Are newcomers being offered a worship service similar to the church they came from so as to avoid culture shock? UU churches thrive in bad times — when we're joining protests to call out for justice and common sense, when our ministers are getting their pictures in the paper for speaking out, when young people are saying, "Hey, these guys aren't phonies!" Why aren't UUs evangelists?

I've attended Unitarian-Universalist churches nearly every Sunday for the past 40 years because I've found their people to be exciting, honest, open, and involved. We didn't get this way by obeying the teachings of some deity or prophet, by being pious and silent, or by adhering to an ancient tradition. At the risk of being smug and militant, I think we have a message that appeals to real thinkers and doers, and we will always be a small but noisy minority among the masses because we are a thinking people. The minister at one of the first UU services I ever attended said, "Most religions concern themselves with humanity's relationship to God and human-to-human relationships. Unitarian-Universalism is concerned mainly with the latter." To me, anything additional is an accessory. I see us as pure Humanists, Christian Humanists, Deist Humanists, Pagan Humanists, Mystic Humanists, and Spiritual Humanists. Humanists in all varieties, but Humanists at heart.

I'm content with this theory. If you prove to me that I'm wrong, I'll change it. That's the aggravating quality about those Unitarian-Universalists who have no really weird beliefs one can make fun of.

Reader Response
Did you like this publication? Was it helpful to you? What elements do you agree with? In what ways do you have a different view? You may send your comments and thoughts to Dave Beato at dbeato@uunhf.org.

Copyright ©1999 Northern Hills Fellowship