Are We Civilized?

When asked what he thought of Western Civilization Ghandi is reported to have replied, "I think it would be a good idea." We think sometimes that we must be civilized because we're so "advanced." But having access to technology is not the same as exhibiting civilized behavior. It's alarming to me the lack of civility in our society. By "civility" I simply mean values that extend beyond self interest. I we see it in organizations as well as individuals. Do we need more religion?
There's no need to go into the case for the incivility of the U.S. government. One could go on for quite some time laying out a case based just on Katrina and Iraq. So I won't bore you with the obvious there. What's even more disturbing to me is the lack of civility amongst people.

It seems as if people don't treat each other with the respect they used to. I say "seems" because it's unclear to me whether this perception is due to my own maturation or due to actual circumstances. Probably a little of both. Back in the seventies the mainstream popular music was all about love, sex, or just life. Now it's about the accumulation of the symbols of wealth, stealing someone else's woman, killing for gain (not "honor"), self glorification, and so on. What the hell happened?

Have we given up on ethics? Did we get so fed up with ignorant religious fanatics that we threw the baby out with the bath water?

Paul Kurtz makes the case that Ethics is not really the proper domain of religion, but of philosophy. That's a pretty sound point. Philosophers have been debating ethical systems for thousands of years. However, after all that the general conclusion is that there's nothing conclusive. Once the student of philosophy reads through the analysis of ethical systems by Aristotle, Epicurious, Hume, Spinoza, and others, as I have, he's left with no certain answers, and that kind of uncertainty does not typically generate the deep level of commitment necessary to raise the banner on any of those systems. So even though Philosophy does a great job of analyzing ethical systems it does a weak job of building within a soul a sufficiently strong commitment to truly live one -- other than that of Rationality. Religion on the other hand, and particularly the ones we dislike because of their fundamentalist nature, have an incredible ability to implant the commitment necessary to truly live within an ethical system. So while Kurtz may be right logically, in practice it might not matter.

Hmm...So should we promote fundamentalist religion??? Boy that sounds like a bad idea. But let me tell you something. Secular humanism is essentially a kind of religion. I attended the Secular Humanist Conference in Atlanta in 1999 and heard Paul Kurtz and others speak. I couldn't believe my ears. I had recently left a very orthodox religion after 36 years of being fully engrossed. I had even been a missionary in Spain for approximately two years. I attended the Secular Humanist Conference because I was searching for answers. At that point in my life I had come to reject organized religion while still believing in, and having religious experiences. I was hoping to be able to reconcile the idea of religious experience with secular humanism at the conference. But no. What I saw and heard reminded me so much of large gatherings of missionaries that we used to have in Spain. We were right. Everyone else just hadn't seen the light yet. Instead of a dedication to critical analysis that might lead us to some new discovery, there was only evangelism. Certain premises were unquestioned and often speakers would enjoy skewering those of faith for a good laugh, with no critical analysis deployed. This was the spirit of the secular humanist's conference as it was the spirit of our missionary gatherings.

Here's a question then for all of you secular humanists: "How can secular humanism instill enough ethical energy and commitment to make secular humanism a healing, inspiring faith?" Maybe this is part of why we're not so civil. So many of us simply don't believe the crackpot preachers so we've rejected religion. But what about ethics? As Kurtz points out, ethics is more rightly the province of philosophy, while emotive (I'll say spiritual) experience is the rightly province of religion. But while ethics exists outside of religion, does secular humanism have the ability to implant enough energy in people to live it rightly?

Kurtz wrote a book called "Living Without Religion: Eupraxophy". (Haven't read it yet so can't comment too much.) Eupraxophy is "a nonreligious life stance or worldview emphasizing the importance of living an ethical and exuberant life, and relying on rational methods such as logic, observation and science (rather than faith, mysticism or revelation) toward that end."

Sorry guys. Personally, I only use logic to figure shiznit out. But I use "faith, mysticism, and revelation" to fill my soul, lift my spirits, provide meaning to my life, and inspire me to rise and achieve. I believe in an "energy" that fills the universe and has the power to do wonderful things if we calm our minds and souls and tap into it. I believe that we each have a purpose in life. I know well the scientific or logical arguments against this. But you know what? Science is a theory just like any religious system. It's all just another way to try to explain what we perceive as reality. And my inspirations and soul-filling experiences are worth more to me than anything. They do provide meaning, direction, and joy to my life -- and guide me to the next steps up. I've lived it. It works. Therefore, it is wonderful, beautiful, and useful. So why should a person reject it? I call it "energy" or "Source". After so many years of first deep immersion in religion and religious knowledge, then abandonment of religion, then atheism, and then agnosticism, I now realize that this is what they call God. Who knows what it actually is or what it's called. It doesn't really matter. So all the religious dogmatists, finger pointers, and lunatic preachers can kiss my ass. They don't represent this God.

This theory of God, expressed best by Deepak Chopra, is what I see as the "religion" that can work in our day and age. A religion that rejects these idiot preachers out there. A religion that is entirely compatible with our modern, rational thinking. A religion that represents the true, core essence of all religions. And most importantly, a religion that instills us with deep love, hope, faith, and adds meaning to our lives.

peace,
-Forsyth