A.J. Castellitto
August 28, 2014
What separation (of church & state) is this?
By A.J. Castellitto

Religious Humanism is the religious philosophy, ideology and overall worldview dominating secular thought and driving political policy.The news media, pop-culture, education, institutions of higher learning, natural/social sciences and historical studies are all prominently presented through the lens of religious humanism. Religious humanism has given birth and momentum to widespread, worldwide political correctness, socialism, ambiguous gender roles, and big government tyrannical authority to nanny and police the masses (and a new world vision that seeks to control trade, commerce, resources, basic needs, privacy, wealth, medicine, defense and the population at large – with each global jurisdiction under a central authority).

It starts local before ultimately going global. This is why both Christianity and the Constitution must be rendered obsolete. You can't control the masses when they won't put their ideological and intellectual faith in your leadership, insight and expertise.

I'm an apologist by nature. I say let's kill the propaganda and bring back inquiry and objectivity in all natural and existential areas of experience. That means you objectively consider the actual historical, archaeological, and natural aspects of the human experience alongside Christianity's claim to ultimate authority and truth. What are the things that bring health and balance to society? Are they really found in the carnal schemes of the godless man or did God actually create us in an orderly fashion and surround us with natural, sustaining resources?

Maybe everything is 'just so' and self-producing and we naturally evolved from a survival of the fittest mentality to a progressive species that instinctively values each individual as they are (despite their randomly organic essence and perceived emotional/intellectual complexity).

We were either made to be a little greater than the apes or the angels.....

It's time to fairly and objectively weigh the evidence. The future course of our nation and the legitimacy of the First Amendment is on the line....Let's get it on!!!

The Secular Statement of Faith

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...Religion remains constant in its quest for abiding values, an inseparable feature of human life. We therefore affirm the following:

FIRST: Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. SECOND: Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as a 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...FIFTH: Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values... 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... SEVENTH: Religion consists of those actions, purposes, and experiences which are humanly significant...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 the 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 humanism 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 them; 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 the theses of religious humanism. Though we consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate, the quest for the good life is 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 the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task. Copyright © 1933 by The New Humanist and 1973 by the American Humanist Association


© A.J. Castellitto

 

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A.J. Castellitto

A.J. Castellitto is a freelance writer who resides in NJ with his wife and five children. He holds a B.S. in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton and his writings have been published at The Center for Western Journalism, The Christian Post, Intellectual Conservative and Reformed Perspective Magazine.

Tweets: @AmericaLost2014

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