Someone I met recently on the New Haven Green told me that she was a Humanist. She also told me that atheism was the greatest cause of evil in the world.
Someday, when she discovers that a large number of Humanists also are atheists, I believe she’ll be horrified that she ever unwittingly aligned herself with such a worldview. (Unfortunately, I didn’t feel it was the time or the place to have that conversation.)
As an atheist and a Humanist, I was hurt by her words. And I wish I could say that she was the only person I’ve ever encountered who said negative things about my community, but her remarks represent an all too common set of misconceptions about atheists and Humanists.
But here’s the thing: As far as I could tell from our brief encounter, besides the atheism part, aspects of Humanism are actually quite compatible with her beliefs.
The reason I suspect she would find much in Humanism to agree with is because she stopped me to talk about the People’s Climate March in NYC. She described the importance of people coming together to work to solve our shared problems — a core belief of Humanism.
Humanism came up in our conversation because I told her that I was not able to go, but that local Humanist groups I was a member of were already organizing people to go and march together. When she answered that she was a Humanist too, I was instantly excited. It is exceedingly rare for me to meet other Humanists outside of my Humanism and interfaith work. But my excitement quickly waned when it became clear that she was using Humanism to mean something else, and when she started denigrating atheists like me.
She is not the only one who misunderstands or misuses “Humanism” — but her confusion about the term reminded me that there is a lot of ignorance about what Humanism is and what atheists believe.
Humanism is a philosophy and way of life rooted in the value and agency of people, through which individuals aspire to live the best lives they can — both for themselves and for others. It’s not exclusively atheistic, but a large number of people who call themselves Humanists in the United States also call themselves atheists, which is why Humanism is often described as a worldview that maintains that people can be good without God.
For me and many others, the being good part is more important than not believing in God part. When it comes to what matters to me, atheism doesn’t tell the whole story. The word “atheist” only explains one thing: That the person does not believe in a God or gods. It does not explain how that person spends their days, what they dream about, what they fear — nor does it provide an ethical framework. Humanism provides a context for atheists to discover and discuss all these things, including the foundations and consequences of their ethical beliefs.
There are many people in New Haven like me who don’t believe in God but are committed to living an ethical life. But because many people outside of our community are unfamiliar with Humanism, our perspective often goes unheard.
When I tell people I am a Humanist the next question is often, “What does that mean?” It’s a conversation I’m excited to have. I see it as an opportunity to connect with someone through educating them about my worldview and as an opening to learn about theirs.
My brief encounter with this stranger on the Green is illustrative of exactly why it is so important to seek out dialogue and understanding with people different from oneself. It’s possible that, for this woman, learning about Humanism and the good works Humanism can inspire Humanists to do would chip away at the prejudice she has for atheists. That is the reason I seek to understand how people from other religious and ethical traditions make sense of their place in the world as much as I seek to understand my own place in the world as a Humanist.
Discovering what gives my life meaning and purpose and what I have in common with people from other communities is at the heart of Humanism. Determining how to put these foundations to work so I can live the best life that I can while cooperating with others to make the world a better place for all people is why I need a community. I can’t do these things on my own.
Which is why I’m proud to work on building such a community here in New Haven as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Yale Humanism Community, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a supportive community for atheists, agnostics. and Humanists — both at Yale and in New Haven. Many of our events are open to the community beyond Yale, like our monthly Sunday gathering, Humanist Haven.
Yale Humanist Community’s Humanism at Yale Week, which runs from April 5 – 12 and features workshops, speakers, an interfaith service project, and much more, is a perfect opportunity to learn more about Humanism — whether you are interested in finding a Humanist community for yourself, or because you are interested in learning how Humanists live and make meaning. More information can be found here.
Wendy Webber is a writer and activist who works to build Humanist communities and interbelief relationships between Humanist and faith communities.
I have a religion--but you will call it blasphemy. It is that there is a God for the rich man but none for the poor.....Perhaps your religion will sustain you,will feed you--I place no dependence in mine. Our religions are alike, though, in one respect--neither can make a man happy when he is out of luck.