A couple months ago, Rev. Roger Butts of the High Plains Unitarian Universalist Church wrote a wonderful defense of atheists doing good works in the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Now, he’ll be leading free classes on religious humanism:
Beginning Wednesday at High Plains, Butts will teach a free four-week course on religious humanism and its place in society. Classes are open to anyone and no registration is required.
“I want to lift up religious humanism as an alternative to (religious) orthodoxy,” said Butts, who isn’t sure if God exists and doesn’t take the Bible literally.
Religious humanists contend that belief in deities and a spiritual realm are not needed to motivate people to make the world a better place. Yet there are aspects of religion, such as its communalism and use of rites and rituals, that they uphold.
Religious humanism is still too touchy-feely for my tastes, but I know there are a lot of atheists who still feel culturally tied to their former faiths who might see this religious humanism as a helpful stepping stone away from actual religion.
For those of you in that camp, this may be a great series of talks for you.
