"Like most persons of this persuasion, I regard myself
as a Religious Humanist not because of having been converted to a
creed; a faith; not because of my having signed a membership card
in a crusading fraternity of believers. The term Religious
Humanism is more descriptive of a state of mind, of an attitude
with respect to philosophy, religion, ethics, than it is a label
for another 'ism.'"
• Lester Mondale (from Religious Humanism: A
Testimonial)
"I have been enthusiastic about our Religious-Humanist
Fellowship because it presages an enlargement of humanism, a
creatively different emphasis in humanism...life's dimensions and
puzzles, for their happy resolution, demand rationality, but not
bellicosity, required is an imaginative psychology as well as an
analytical logic, an inward look as well as an extraversion...to
hold eternity in an hour and to see the world in a grain of sand
are valid human endeavors...it is an honest and valid emotional
appeal to still undefined values of tomorrow as they stand in
tension with the values which have egregiously failed our today.
For motivational insight maybe we need a Prometheus. Or in
remembering another mythmaker, maybe we need to see things as a
little child."
• Robert Hoagland (from A New Dimension of
Humanism)
"Humanism is a celebration and a promise; it celebrates the
integrity of human reason, responsibility and compassion, and it
promises a satisfying lifestyle that can be counted on. No more
deprecation of the human condition; rather, an opportunity to
remain true to ourselves by having both feet in this world and
responding to the challenges of existence with excitement and
pragmatic service to others. Humanism is religion come of age; at
long last we humans can live dignified lives, finite creatures
though we may be. At long last, men, women and children can find
ultimate fulfillment through bringing out the best in humanity for
the sake of humanity."
• Beverley Earles
"...YES: Humanism can be religious; indeed, the most
meaningful and liveable kind of humanism is itself a religious way
of understanding and living life. It offers a view of
[people] and [their] place in the universe that is
a religious philosophy...overarching and undergirding it all,
there can be a haunting sense of wonder which never leaves one for
whom life itself is a mystery and miracle. Where did we come from,
why are we here, where are we going with all the effort,
frustration, the grief, the joy? To be caught up in this sense of
wider relatedness, to sense our being connected in live ways with
all the world and everyone in it, is the heart dimension of
religion, whatever its name."
• Peter Samson (from Can Humanism Be
Religious?)
