Tag: Humanism
What is Proselytism to Interfaith?
Recently, a couple tried to convert me to their religion—not an uncommon experience as a secular humanist. Proselytism is a topic I have spent a lot of time meditating on, as it’s one of the harde... Read More
Turning Hope into Action
Sometimes I’m not sure if I’m an optimist or a pessimist. Almost daily I am disappointed in humanity. I also am witness to acts of love and empathy that give me faith in humanity on a daily basis.... Read More
When a Humanist Is Asked to Pray
In Ghana it is customary to start and end every meeting with a prayer. What kind of meeting doesn’t matter: PTA meeting, building project meeting, NGO planning meeting–they all start and end w... Read More
Hope is an Action
“They gave Pandora a box. Prometheus begged her not to open it. She opened it. Every evil to which human flesh is heir came out of it. The last thing to come out of the box was hope. It flew awa... Read More
“Right View” and Interfaith Dialogue
One “fold” on the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path toward enlightenment is Right View. “Right view” is the skill of dissolving interpretations in favor of drawing closer to the reality of the wor... Read More
“Stand together yet not too near together”: How Interfaith Dialogue Teaches Participants to Value Diversity
“Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart... Read More
The Mechanics of Personal Transformation via Interfaith Dialogue
My research on interfaith dialogue is driven by questions about people’s individual capacities for transformation and cohabitation with other humans. In previous articles (here and here) I demonstra... Read More
Humanism, Race, and Why NonHumanists Should Care
I am a white, female, humanist writing today about what I have seen and heard about the racial climate in humanism (and its relatives: atheism, skepticism, freethought, etc.). “Racial climate” all... Read More