Humanist Teachings of Reason and Science

March 2, 2003

Rev. Gretchen Woods

READING: "The Humanist Manifesto of 1933"

THE TIME HAS COME for widespread recognition of the radical changes in religious beliefs throughout the modern world. The time is past for mere revision of traditional attitudes. Science and economic change have disrupted the old beliefs. Religions the world over are under the necessity of coming to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience. In every field of human activity, the vital movement is now in the direction of a candid and explicit humanism. In order that religious humanism may be better understood we, the undersigned, desire to make certain affirmations which we believe the facts of our contemporary life demonstrate.

THERE IS GREAT DANGER of a final, and we believe fatal, identification of the word religion with doctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century. Religions have always been means for realizing the highest values of life. Their end has been accomplished through the interpretation of the total environing situation (theology or world view), the sense of values resulting therefrom (goal or ideal), and the technique (cult), established for realizing the satisfactory life. A change in any of these factors results in alteration of the outward forms of religion. This fact explains the changefulness of religions through the centuries. But through all changes religion itself remains constant in its quest for abiding values, an inseparable feature of human life.

TODAY MAN'S LARGER UNDERSTANDING of the universe, his scientific achievements, and his deeper appreciation of brotherhood, have created a situation which requires a new statement of the means and purposes of religion. Such a vital, fearless, and frank religion capable of furnishing adequate social goals and personal satisfactions may appear to many people as a complete break with the past. While this age does owe a vast debt to the traditional religions, it is nonetheless obvious that any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the need of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity for the present. It is a responsibility which rests upon this generation. We therefore affirm the following:

FIRST: Religious humanists regard the universe a self—existing and not created.

SECOND: Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process.

THIRD: Holding an organic view of life, humanists find that the traditional dualism of mind and body must be rejected.

FOURTH: Humanism recognizes that man's religious culture and civilization, as clearly depicted by anthropology and history, are the product of a gradual development due to his interaction with his natural environment and with his social heritage. The individual born into a particular culture is largely molded into that culture.

FIFTH: Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values. Obviously humanism does not deny the possibility of realities as yet undiscovered, but it does insist that the way to determine the existence and value of any and all realities is by means of intelligent inquiry and by the assessment of their relation to human needs. Religion must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and method.

SIXTH: We are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism, and the several varieties of "new thought."

SEVENTH: Religion consists of those actions, purposes, and experiences which are humanly significant. Nothing human is alien to the religious. It includes labor, art, science, philosophy, love, friendship, recreation — all that is in its degree expressive of intelligently satisfying living. The distinction between the sacred and the secular can no longer be maintained.

EIGHTH: Religious humanism considers the complete realization of human personality to be the end of man's life and seeks its development and fulfillment in the here and now. This is the explanation of the humanist's social passion.

NINTH: In place of the old attitudes involved in worship and prayer the humanist finds his religious emotions expressed in a heightened sense of personal life and in a cooperative effort to promote social well—being.

TENTH: It follows that there will be no uniquely religious emotions and attitudes of the kind hitherto associated with belief in the supernatural.

ELEVENTH: Man will learn to face the crises of life in terms of his knowledge of their naturalness and probability. Reasonable and manly attitudes will be fostered by education and supported by custom. We assume that humanists will take the path of social and mental hygiene and discourage sentimental and unreal hopes and wishful thinking.

TWELFTH: 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.

THIRTEENTH: Religious humanism maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. The intelligent evaluation, transformation, control, and direction of such associations and institutions with a view to the enhancement of human life is the purpose and program of humanism. Certainly religious institutions, their ritualistic forms, ecclesiastical methods, and communal activities must be reconstituted as rapidly as experience allows, in order to function effectively in the modern world.

FOURTEENTH: 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. A socialized and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that the equitable distribution of the means of life be possible. 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.

FIFTEENTH AND LAST: We assert that humanism will: (a) affirm life rather than deny it; (b) seek to elicit the possibilities of life, not flee from is; and (c) endeavor to establish the conditions of a satisfactory life for all, not 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.

SO STAND THESE THESES OF religious humanism. Though we consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate, the quest for the good lifeis still the central task for mankind. Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself thepower for its achievement. He must set intelligence and ill to the task.

Signers:

Johannes Abraham Christoffel Fagginer Auer

Edwin Burdette Backus

Harry Elmer Barnes

Leon Milton Birkhead

Raymond Bennett Bragg

Edwin Arthur Burtt

Ernest Caldecott

Anton J. Carlson

John Dewey

Albert C. Dieffenbach

John Dietrich

Bernard Fantus

William Floyd

Frank Hankins

Eustace Haydon

Joyn Haynes Holmes

Llewelyn Jones

Robert Morse Lovett

Harold Parsons Marley

Lester Mondale

Charles Francis Potter

John Herman Randall, Jr.

Curtis Reese

Oliver Reiser

Clinton Lee Scott

Roy Wood Sellars

Harlow Shapley

Maynard Shipley

W. Frank Swift

Vivian T. Thayer

Eldred Cornelius Vanderlaan

Joseph Walker

Jacob J. Weinstein

Frank Scott Corey Wicks

David Rhys Williams

Edwin Henry Wilson

SERMON: "Humanist Teachings of Reason and Science"

In 1917, at a meeting of the Western Unitarian Conference, two powerful and relatively young Unitarian ministers, John Dietrich, serving in Spokane, Washington, and Curtis Reese, then in Des Moines, Iowa, met and discovered the commonality of their views on religion and humanism. Thus began a movement within Unitarianism that was one of the dominant forces in the American Unitarian Association during the twentieth century through the time of merger with the Univeralist Church of America and into this new century. (Schulz, Making the Manifesto, p. (19.)

Dietrich and Reese did not, however, coin the term "humanism." That was done in 1908 by Frank C. Doan, a professor of psychology and philosophy of religion at Meadville Theological School, which was then located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He introduced a philosophy he named cosmic humanism to the American Philosophical Association in that year. As William Schulz points out, "Doan's thought was, in fact, much closer to modernism than to humanism, but the philosopher always insisted upon starting with the human in his search for the divine." (Ibid. p. 19) Still, It was Dietrich and Reese's early articulation of humanism that made it a religious movement and helped keep that movement within Unitarianism.

With this in mind, we examine the fifth source from which our living tradition draws: "humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit." This perspective has been basic to twentieth century Unitarianism and Universalism, and now to the Unitarian Universalist Association, but it takes many forms: religious humanism, secular humanism, mystical humanism, etc. Let us briefly consider the history leading up to the Humanist Manifesto of 1933, the core values of humanism, and concerns that have arisen over the past fifteen years.

Humanism did not arise solely from Dietrich and Reese. Intellectually, the move away from Christianity and toward a broader expression of religious thought began long before their meeting. "Two developments had shaped its intellectual ethos: [1] The emergence of science as a respected discipline for the ascertainment of fact and alteration of the world and [2] the acceptance of evolution as a valid explanation of growth and change on a multitude of levels. (Ibid. p.2.)" These perspectives from the nineteenth century played a large role in the growth of Christian liberalism that valued the use of the mind in religious enterprises.

Beyond the intellectual context, consider the religious context: modernism and free thought also influenced the development of humanism. Modernism was Christian liberalism formed in response to reevaluation of biblical authority, psychoanalysis, and coming to understand Christianity's similarity to earlier cult religions [Ibid. p. 5.] Modernists ". . . rejected an anthropomorphic concept of God in favor of an immanent one, the authority of the Bible in favor of human reason and experience, and otherworldly concerns in favor of this world as the center of action. (Ibid.) Free thought began as 19^th century agnosticism. Schulz notes that ". . . an undercurrent of skepticism, explicitly nontheistic or otherwise, has played across the American intellectual scene throughout the nation's history.(p. 7.)" That undercurrent was especially strong among Unitarians.

Finally, we cannot overlook the cultural context. Though the 1890's featured the positive view of the social gospel and the progressive movement, including Teddy Roosevelt's trust—busting and Wilson's idealism, the period after World War I emphasized business and isolationism. This led to labor unrest, and the "Red scare," during which resident aliens were deported in large groups. This all led to a curious combination of disillusionment and then an upsurge of hope for religion that did not focus upon Christianity, but on science and ethics. (p. 13.)

To consider the particulars of Unitarianism in those contexts: the Free Religious Association was formed in May of 1867 by young transcendentalists who favored free inquiry and rationalistic theism, and objected to a requirement to accept "discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ. (p. 15.)" But its dissociation from the American Unitarian Association led to its demise.

The Western Unitarian Conference , which was founded in 1852 to promote Unitarianism west of New York State, in 1875 insisted that there would be no tests of dogma among their members. Its missionary secretary, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, knew his ideal church would be a "thinker's home. (p. 17.)" This group continued to have influence within the Unitarian Movement, maintaining an insistence upon creedlessness and openness to reason and science. Both the Free Religious Association and the Western Unitarian Conference laid the ground work for Unitarians to move to the forefront of humanist thought.

Though Dietrich and Reese were among the first to voice the notions of humanism, they were busy being clergy. Hence, in late 1932, Raymond Bragg, then secretary of the Western Unitarian Conference, asked Roy Wood Sellars, a well—respected professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, to articulate a systematic and intellectual statement of humanism. His first draft, now lost, was reviewed by Eustace Hardon, Curtis Reese, and Edwin Henry Wilson—all prominent humanists in the Chicago area. This committee also approached the signers of the manifesto as well. The result was the statement read today which was released to the public in 1933.

Needless to say, the manifesto was greeted with mixed reviews. Some loved it, some hated it. Spme of the more conservative Christian Unitarians treated the Humanists as badly as the Humanists treated others when they became dominant in the later 20^th century. Still, Humanist ideas grew strong in Unitarianism, in later Universalism, and in the merged Unitarian Universalist Association. The core of humanism states that the full development of the human personality is the highest value to which human beings can aspire. This included a belief in the intrinsic worth of the human being. (p. 115.) Sound familiar?

Most humanists thought that religion must be focused upon social and economic reform, so that all human beings could attain their full potential. And a free and just social order is essential to the release of such potential. (p.117.) "For them, human ethics were experimental, not fixed; a free person must act in accordance with his or her intellect. Values should be loved and clung to, not for their own sakes but only to the extent that they contribute to human well—being. (Ibid.) ". . . it conceived of intelligence as active problem solving and of humanity as the executive perpetrator of change (in collaboration, to be sure, with evolution). (p. 126.)

An interesting development—and split—which I observed in humanism was between the "city humanists," who seemed more isolated from nature, and the "country humanists" who leaned heavily upon nature for their inspiration. The former was personified for me by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, founder of Humanistic Judaism, who had little concern for the out—of—doors, and Robert Marshall, who found great comfort in his garden.

Humanism is a highly idealistic approach to human beings and to the possibilities for human intellect in relation to the problems of life. This leads me to my concern about humanism: it does not account for many ways of human knowing beyond rational thought. The educational work of Howard Gardner occurred in the late twentieth century, long after the manifesto. Also, when an individual reaches the end of her or his personal resources, some humanists forget the value of community and beauty to offer further support during difficult times. The highest criticism after World War II has been that humanists do not acknowledge the depth of evil to which human beings seem able to sink.

Still, the genius of humanism is that it refuses to believe that "revelation is sealed." Revelation is ongoing through the work of science and openness of the human mind to new information. Also, humanism insists that human beings are to take responsibility for their lives, rather than blaming them upon others. I find that useful and refreshing. Also, humanists do not place humanity beyond the context of social order and nature, thus acting to better the situations of all people and the planet upon which we stand.

It is the best of humanism that I hear when I listen to my friend and colleague, the Rev. Anne Odin Heller:

“My heart is moved by all I cannot save…”

And I am moved by the vastness of the sky when, on a dark night, I watch the stars wheel over, and dimly know how small I am in this vast cosmic accident. “Between an atom and a star…” A koan. An echo of my laughter in the dark starry night, which I love.

I don’t find “god” a useful word. Nor “spirit of life” for that matter.

What I…believe in: in the life of the mind; in the interdependent web of life; in the capacity of human beings for evil and for good, in their capacity to know the difference between those, and to choose; in music and sitting still and being still with the earth.

Good friends, glad rivers…great joy in the morning! Another day!

Good words from a good humanist!

So Be It! Blessed Be!